Infernal
by Chrisso
Summary: When you feel that the world has turned a back on you perhaps you should take another look , maybe you have turned your back on the world .Daya gains a younger sister who has given up on being happy where he teaches her to be alive once again !
1. chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

It was the most important day of her life ! Naah...the most important day for her father . D.N. Sharma had always dreamed of the day when his daughters would serve the country in one way or the other . However she had always resented this idea . She could never imagine herself doing that. She had seen her father's life . Putting his country before him , Putting the his fellowmen before his family and putting the well being of others before his own happiness . And she hated this. She knew what the daily absence of a father in childhood meant . And she hated that . For once just once She wanted her father to be there for her during her happy days , sad moments...and times when she really needed his advice . And it was not surprising for her that her father had failed her today also , He was not there . He was never there..and she knew..he would never be there . She felt an unexplained hollow feeling in her stomach at the last thought . She gulped down the strong coffee to supress that unknown emotion. This was not new to her. For a time being this was her lifestyle now . Suppressing feelings , hiding fears and avoiding people .

She brushed away her thoughts and gave herself a final look in the mirror . She said to herself in a very low voice " **Inspector shreya** " . She glanced at her relflection .

 **Was she happy**? She thought and had the answer ready in seconds . She knew she wasn't...

 **Was she satisfied ?** She thought again and made a mental note to think about this later. Guess she didn't have an positive answer for this too !

 **Was she ready ?** Another question came to her mind . A small smile crept across her face . She knew she was ready .Ready to take this responsibility. She had waited for this day from a long time . At least she had a positive answer for this .

She stopped her trainof thoughts and had a look at the watch . She knew she should be leaving for her duty .

Taking her keys and she had a peek inside her sisters room . The younger one was sleeping peacefully . Without waking her up she carresed her hair and left . She knew they were going to have a long night today...better let her sleep now..she thought . Giving instructions to the two very loyal servants of the house radhabai and dattu she left .


	2. chapter 2

After shreya left , radhabai entered amairas room . She was still sleeping peacefully . Radhabai didnt wished to wake her up bit she needed to .

" Amairah beta , subah ho gyi..aapka waqt ho raha hai college jane ka . " Radha bai said to amaira as she opened the curtains . The sunlight fell on amairah's face and she didn't like that at all . She said angrily " kya yaar radhabai subah subah khidki khol k rakh dete ho..aap toh kamse kam shanti se sone do " . Radha bai was not new to the harsh behaviour of amairah but deep down she knew how pure her heart was . She had seen her grow from a innocent kid who always wanted toh follow her father her every way she could to transform into brave , couragious girl what she is today . She had always been there for her and perhaps knew her better than anyone else . Although she was a little shocked when amairah decuded to opt medicine as a career even though all she wanted was to be in civil services . Radhabai always thought that out of the two girls amairah would be the one fulfilling her fathers wishes but it had turned exactly opposite . She never questioned amairaah about it though because she knew amairaah already had enough questions being fired at her and all she needed was some support . So she became one .

"betaji jaldi uth jao..aapko deri hojati hai toh aap bina nashta kiye chale jate ho fir . Chalo jaldi se uth jao aur nashta krne ajao niche . " Radhabai again said very calmly and went downstairs to prepare breakfast .

Amairaah woke up with a very grumpy face . She hated mondays.Actually she hated all the days but monday was on the top of her list . She went on to do her morning chores . After about half hour she was done bathing . When she was drying her hair she remembered the only task she had today was to deliver lab reports to the patients . This meant not being the doctor on call and actually working on any patient . She hated this part of her internship. Amairaah scrunched her face in sadness and went down to have breakfast .

"Radhabai , shreya didi najar nahi aa rahi ? " she asked after she scanned the room .

"Aapko yaad nahi , aaj unki duty ka pehla din hai. Subah subah hi nikal gye waqt pe pohoche isiliye . Aapke kamre me bhi aake gye the . Maine pucha bhi tha ki aapko utha du kya krke toh unhone mana kar diya ." Radhabai answered .

"Achcha kiya nahi uthaya toh . Jab join krne k pehle kuch bola nahi tab ab baat krke kya fayda..chalo chodo der ho rahi hai me nikalti hu . "

Meanwhile seeing amairaah leave dattu came running from the garden and shouting "didi ...didi.."

"Kya hua dattu ?" Amairaah asked

"Didi woh kal raat aap sone k baad pradyuman ji ka fone aya tha. Kuch baat krni thi bol rahe the ." Dattu said.

"Badi didi ko kyu nahi btaya unke liye fone honga . Unko atese bta dena ." amairaah said to dattu .

"Nahi didi..aapse baat krni thi bole maine badi didi ka naam liya toh .Aap ekbaar baat kr lena unse aaj din me . " Now this made amairaah confused what acp sir wants to talk about now . "Thik hai me dekhti hu . "

"Waise didi ek sawal puchu ? " dattu asked again . God this man can never be satisfied with one question she thought to herself . "Haa pucho " she replied .

"Aapke papa ka hi toh sapna pure krne k liye badi didi ne cid join kiya hai . Aur usme bhi pradyuman ji ki niche kaam kar rahi hai . Isse jyada khushi ki baat aur kya ho sakti hai . Par aap kahi khush najar nahi aa rahi . Aapke bhi toh kuch aisehi sapne hua krte the haina ? "

Amairaah was becoming irritated after every sentence of his and just before she was about to throw an angry fit , Radhabai came running to the scene and scolded dattu . "Kya dattu tu bhi subah subah ye sawal jawab leke baitha hai..didi ko jane de..unko deri ho rahi hai. " Dattu noded his head and returned to his work . Radhabai asked amairaah " Beta khana khane dopahar me ghar aaoge ya tiffin bhijwa du ? " Amairaah asked her to send the tiffin to her college and headed towards her car . She sat inside the car and took a deep breathe .She needed to calm herself down . She started the car engine and went on to pick her friend on her way to college .

Amairaah reached the placed where she daily picked her friend but she was nowhere to be seen . "Always late . " she exclaimed angrily ." Her mood was going from worse and worst and she didn't need more triggers to worsen it .

She rummaged through her bag and finally found what she desperately needed - cigarettes . She began smoking and started to think about the morning happenings .

Of course she knew her elder sister was joining CID but she never bothered to ask about the joining date . She made a mental note to herself to not ask shreya about her first day as well . She was never interested anywayys .She had already lost enough peace of mind over this and didn't want to lose more . Well problem 1 managed .

Now problem 2 - Talking to ACP sir . ACP sir was her father's friend and she also had immense respect for him. He was a fatherly figure and one of the very few people whom amairaah respected . He was the only who was constantly coaxing amairaah to talk about what she felt , express her feelings and making her feeling better . But here was the thing . Amairaah had became a girl who never bothered to share her sorrows . She had gone far away from the things like ' talking about your problems could make you feel better ' She had become a lone person . And she was satisfied with that . The less people in her life the less she needed to care about . And she wanted to avoid this talk coz she knew how emotionally draining the conversation with ACP sir would go . But she also knew his attitude .He wont give up untill he is done talking to her . Better call him myself she thought .

Her cigarette ended but there was no sign of her friend .

After waiting for about 5 mins more she was relieved to see her .

"Dr kavya,For God's sake can you be please on time for at least one day in a week ?" amairaah asked angrily .

Kavya said sorry and they both hopped into the car and drove off .

Amairaa made kavya aware about the morning happenings .

Kavya was also convinced with amairaah's decision to call ACP sir herself .

One thing Amairaah was fearing was What would happen if ACP sir comes and asks to meet him in the bureau . She would come across her elder sister and she didn't want that .

She really didnt want that not at least today .

With that thought they reached their college .

Bothe kavya and amairaah wore the white coats and took their sthethoscopes and went to report to their seniors who would be alloting them their duties


	3. chapter 3

Shreya reached the bureau . She got down from her car and she looked a hell lot of confident . Her attitude seemed to be completely different from what it was hours ago . She held her head high . The chance to join the most premier institution of India wasn't offered to everybody and the one offered to ger she wasn't going to take it lightly .She smiled at the sudden memories of her father that clouded her mind and looked up at the sky . Shreya prayed to her father to help her through her first day .

The other team members were yet to come. Shreya was called in early today . ACP sir wanted to have a talk with her before she started her job .

Although she knew ACP sir well before this job she knew she wasnt going to receive any special favours from her .

With prior permission she entered her new mentor's cabin .

ACP gave her a warm welcome and they started having their conversation .

The other team members had started to arrive . They were becoming curious about girl who was having quite a long conversation with ACP sir .

After about 10-15 mins they both were out of the cabin and ACP sir started to introduce Shreya to his most senior and capable officers starting with Sr inspector Abhijeet , Sr inspector Daya , Sr. inspector sachin and so on ...

ACP sir asked shreya to learn some basics from Purvi and she was further scheduled to go the shooting range with Sr inspector Abhijeet .

ACP called abhijeet inside his cabin .

" Abhijeet me chahta hu tum shreya pe thik se najar rakho . Woh sab thik se kar rahi hai ki nahi . Uska kaam krne ka man hai ki nahi .Kaha galat ho rahi hai..kaha tum sudhar sakte ho . Thik hai ? "

ACP ordered Abhijeet .

"Iski koi khas wajah sir ?" Abhijeet asked his boss.

"Nahi kuch khas wajah nahi . Bas kisi aur ko pta mat chalne dena ki makne tumhe ye kaam btaya hai ." replied the ACP

Abhijeet was getting more and more confused about what it was with the new girl . But he just decided to keep quite and obey what his senior has told him .

There were no cases reported recently and hence Shreya had ample time today !

(Amairaah's college)

It was a slow day at hospital and thats why Amairaah hated mondays . Afterall the only thing she had done today was reading out reports to the patients . Thankfully all of them were normal .

She looked at the watch and called kavya if she was free for lunch .They had their lunch and after that amairaah had decided to call ACP sir .

With slight hesitation she dialled the no. It kept ringing bit the fone was not answered..

She let it go .

The afternoon session was boring . She literally had nothing to do . And the empty time meant amairaah mind would be flooded with memories .

Amairaah became very silent . She didnt like when memories of her maa baba clouded her . Or for once she thought to remember them in normal way like you see the happy days spent with them . She tried and tried this a lot but she couldn't . The only thing that came to her mind was that bloody day . How could she do that to her parents ? How could she chose the other people over them ? She felt horrible.

She is the reason their parents are not with them today . " **I am a horrible daughter " .** She thought

Oohh !! How she could tell her sister that now matter how scared and angry she is about her working in the crime department..that She makes my life a little less miserable . She could tell that her sister was trying so hard ti fix her . But she was broken..broken beyond repair . " **I am a horrible sister . "** came another thought .

How she wished she could tell people that anger wasn't her real emotion . **"Was she becoming this horrible person ? "**

she questioned herself . She needed another smoke and was ready to grab one when she realised that she was in college . Nobody except kavya knew about her smoking habit . She had started smoking 2 years back . With each cigarette amairaah tried to burn a memory but it wasn't that successful she thought . She smoked them anyway coz they made her calm . That's what she thought .

Becoming aware about the surrounding she put on her expressionless face .

Time had passed and they could leave for home . She met kavya and at that instant kavya knew that she had a miserable afternoon . She knew that face . She asked Amairaah "Are you okay ?? You wanna talk about it ? "

And Amairaah wanted to talk about it . Damn it . She wanted to shout and yell . She wanted to scream about it. But all she could do was silently whisper , **"I am fine !"**

Amairaah had herself decided to build walls around her self . She thought she was protecting what's left within . And now she knew she was wrong about that She had stuck inside the walls so large that nobody was there to save her .

She dropped kavya on her way and headed back home .

(Back home )

Shreya was back . Her first day went well . It was time for dinner . She called amairaah down . They had small talks about some stuff here and there . Amairaah was finished with her dinner and she was about to leave for her bedroom when shreya stopped her .

"Amairaah ,sit I wanna talk to you about something . "

Amairaah squinted her eyes and was back at the table . "What do you wanna talk about ? " she asked

"Its been a week when I informed you about my acceptance in CID . You haven't expressed anything about that . I know you would be scared but I thought you would be really happy. You know how happy would dad have been..! " Shreya said to amairaah .

There goes peaceful evening Amairaah thought . " okayy !! I am happy for you . of course I am scared but I hope its normal for the people who have seen their parents die infront of them because of some stupid mission . Are you happy now..that I have expressed my feelings ? And if yes please allow me to take your leave ." She said with an attitude and was about to leave when shreya stooped her again .

"Amairaah, I thought you would bring dad up in conversation but you never bought him up once in the whole week .This silence thing it's crap and I want you to get over it . I know how you felt about dad I just want to know if you are okay !! "

Amairaah was fuming with anger now .

"Dude , I am okay !! okay ?? . Just because I am not sharing and caring like you doesn't mean you hover continiously around my head asking ' are you okay' ' are you fine ' . I am okay if that's all you want to hear .

No-No-No you are right ! . Lets share and care . Come here . I will lay my head gently on your shoulder, maybe cry a little , hug , maybe even slow dance .

 **You know what these are your issues quit dumping them on me ."** Amairaah shouted . This talk just turned into something else .

" What do you mean these are my issues ? I just want you to be happy for me ? And what the hell are you talking about ? " Shreya asked.. impatiently ..she needed some answers and she needed them now .

"Well you wanna know what I really feel about your job thing . Apart from being scared , I am angry And I dont understand what makes you so excited about this job . Fuck it or shove it up your ass . I dont give a damn about it " Amairaah again said angrily .

Shreya was getting more and more confused with where the hell this conversation was going .

She calmly asked amairaah "Why are you angry ? You know it was dad's dream right ? "

Amairaah smirked " Ofcourse it was dad's dream . But you what makes me mad is why are you the one fulfilling it . I think its kind of interesting the sudden obidience thing you have towards dad . Its like ' what would dad want me to do ' . Really girl really . You spent your whole life slugging it out with that man . You even picked a fight with him the last time you both met . And now that he's dead for 4 years you wanna make it all right . Well I am sorry shreya di Its too little , too late . "

Shreya was shocked to hear all of this . She just said " Amu I know these last years have been very hard on know but you have to deal with it and I dont know how but you will deal with it "

Amairaah had just came from her angry fit to a some what calmer mode . She asked Shreya " You know what Shreya di , I want you to be honest with yourselves . I am dealing with dad's death . Are you ??? "

With that Amairaah just left for her bedoom and she closed the door tight . She wanted to be left alone .


	4. chapter 4

Amairaah locker herself inside her room . She scolded herself mentally for talking to her sister like that . But she couldn't help it .

She sat on her bed and took out a photoframe from the drawer besides her. It was her parents last picture taken . She moved her gentle numb fingers over the frame . She felt alone , She could feel her world falling apart in front of her eyes and all she could do was just stare.

Flashback :(4 years back )

Inspector Sharma had just returned from an undercover mission after 4 months . 4 months of no contact untill Mrs sharma received a call from delhi head office that her husband was coming back . She felt a sigh of relief . For a time being they could enjoy their family life . Shreya was completing her masters in software coding from USA and was about to leave tommorow . Amairaah thought at least she had a chance to meet her father be it for one day . However Mr. Sharma wanted to spend more time with her .He went to her room where she had started packing to convince her to spend some more time here .

"Shreya beta aaj subah hi toh me aya aur aise tum ek din me hi chali jaogi.Kuch din aur ruk jao .Lage toh tumhari tickets ki date me change karwa deta hu. " He requested her !

" Baba , me ruk jati par 4 din baad bohot important classes shuru hone wale hai mere . I cant miss them baba . sorry ! " Amairaah said as she continued her packing. " Her father knew this was how it was going to be. But he still tried to convince her once again . "C'mon my daughter , I know you are a bright student . Starting k kuch classes miss ho gye toh I know you will cover it. "

"Nai baba woh aap samajh nahi rahe ..." she was talking to her father when Amairaah entered . She hugged her sister from behind and said "Ruk jao na Didi dekho papa iitna manane ki koshish kar rahe hai aapko. " and Shreya couldn't refuse her sister . She finally gave in to say she cant promise but she will try ! Both of them became happy .

The day went in a jiffy and that's what Amairaah didn't like . She wanted to spend more time with her father but time seemed to be moving superfast . All of them had retired to their bedroom and thats when shreya came to meet amairaah .

"Amu meri baat sun . Maine bohot try kiya par age ke 15 din ki yickets available nahi hai .Mujhe kal hi nikalna hoga ! I am sorry ! " They had small talk where amairaah finally agreed that it was important fkr shreya that she shoul leave.

They were having lunch the next day and after that shreya had leave for delhi at around 3 PM .

Amairaah's father was eating calmly . He was satisfied that at least his daughter tried for a leave on the other hand amairaah's mother was upset and she was showing it through her every action . At last shreya broke tension between her and her mother and asked , "Maa , kya hua ? Maine try to kiya na ! ab agle 15 din ki ticket available nahi hai iska matlab ye toh nahi na ki me 15 din ruk jau ." Her mother was still not talking and shreya thought she was pushing it now .

" Hadd hoti hai kisi chiz ki bhi . Try krne ka theka sirf maine leke rakha hai kya . Papa kabhi kyu nahi try krte ki thode jyada din ghar pe reh sake woh . Woh kabhi kyu nahi aisa krte ki jo mission itna important nahi hai uspe request krke kisi aur bhej dete. Aur meri kya galti hai , mujhe kaunsa papa ne fone krke btaye the ki me aa raha hu , Hume toh ye bhi nahi pta rehta papa ki aap jinda ane wale hai fir ..." before she could finish her sentence she had received a tight slap from her father .

Everybody was shocked to see that .Amairaah knew that her father and sister never saw eye to eye on somethings ,No actually they never saw eye to eye on anything but what happened today, nobody had imagined .

Her father's face showed no expression. No anger not even guilt ,he was just staring blankly

" Yahi toh me kehna chahti hu baba , jo insan wapas ata hai na woh Sr inspector D.N. Sharma hai . Humare baba toh kabhi wapas aye hi nahi . "

And that hurt hard . This tore her Father's heart into pieces .

After about one hour shreya came down with her bags and was ready to leave . She bid her goodbyes to everyone and left .Little did she know that she was going to see her parents for one last time.

To lighten up the mood the three leople that were eventually left in the house decided to have dinner at a restaurant . They had a good time and amairaah's father tried everything to cheer them up .They were on their way back home .They missed shreya but they could do nothing .

As they entered the house all Amairaah could remeber was that out of nowhere somebody grasped her father and made him unconscious . Her mother tried to hit the man but before she could do that she was hit by a strong iron rod and fell and the ground .

Amairaah couldn't understand what was happening untill...

Sudden BLACKNESS ..

Inspector sharma tried to open his eyes . His eyelids were too heavy for that . It was taking too much of his enegry to this minial task . So his moved his fingers across the surroundings to guess where he was . The touch felt unknown . He knew something was horribly wrong and he had to do something. If only he had enough strength to open his eyes .

After having a few deep breathes and putting every ounce of energy he had he was able to open his eyes . But it was of no use . It was dark everywhere . He couldnt hear a single sound execpt that of water . Where was he exactly ?? he shouted in his mind . He yelled "HELLO", "KOI HAI ? " but no answer he did that a few more times untill a sound of door knob opening fell on his ears . The door opened and his eyes hurt due to the amount of light that had fell on them .

"Good afternoon inspector Sharma ." came a voice . " kaun ho tum ? Aur mera pariwar kaha hai ? "

The man replied " Chehra to tum pehchan ne se rahe . Dekhe awaj tum pehchan sakte ho kya ? "

"Seedhe seedhe btao kaun ho tum aur kya chahoye tumhe ? " Insp. Sharma again questioned .

In a jiffy the man held the inspector by the collar and put a gun to his forehead " jyada awaj nikala na muh se toh yahi k yaji uda dunga samjhe . ! " saying this the man directly punched the captive in the face . Insp. Sharma's nose started bleeding profusely but he didn't cared about that . He tried to get up but was tied by many things that it was impossible for him . Seeing his attempt the man laughed hard . " Agar tujhe maarna rehta toh tu kabka maar chuka hota . Tujhe kuch toh bhi chahiye tere kisi partner ki jail se rihayi ya fir paisa . Par yaad rakh jo bhi tujhe chahiye woh tujhe kabhi hasil nahi hoga ."

"Sahi pehchana tune . Janna chahta hai kya chahiye mujhe ?? Sukoon . tujhe barbaad hote dekhne ka sukoon . Janta hai tu me kya karne wala hu ? " He open a small window of that room. Some light again peeped through . Insp. Sharma could se water everywhere . He now understood that he was in the middle of deep sea . The man pointed his finger at cruise ship far away from theirs and said . " Pta hai woh ship pe kya hai ? 350 logo ke sath usme ek bomb bhi plant hai . Yahase bullet shoot krke ek ishara krunga na toh "DHAMAKA" ." He started laughing hysterically .

"Tum aisa kuch nahi kroge . me tumhe karne nahi dunga . "

As insp. Sharma said this his hysterical laughing increased . He said " Khud ko bohot shana samajhta hai tu. Kya krlega heh tu . pair to tute hai dono . Langda sala "

Saying this he again kicked the inspector in his abdomen . This was ahard hit . Blood started coming out from the mouth .

" Bohot logo ko bachane ki chool hai na tereme , jaan bhi dene ko tayyar hai na tu . Chal terko me aaj ek aur mauka dega in logo ko bachane ka . Jo bullet in logo ko ishara krne k liye hai usse tu marega . Woh toh aur bhi majedaar hoga. " He again started laughing hysterically . "Tere pass 10 second hai ye sochne k liye ki jinda kaun rahega tu aur woh 350 log ." Saying that he started counting " ek..do...teen...char..."

Insp. sharma felt helpless . He couldnt think . What was the garuntee that this man would not kill the people on the boat after having him also . But he didnt have enough time . At the count of eight the man had the gun aimed out of the window . At 9 he was ready to shoot . But before he could utter his last count of ten a voice came " Un logo ko kuch nahi hona chahiye . Jo bhi krna hai mujhe karo. " Spoke the brave heart .

Hearing this the man pulled his gun down and signalled something to his fellowmen . Insp. Sharma closed his eyes and was waiting for what what next . One of his fellowman entered the room in that ship dragging some one with him . There was still not enough light and hence Insp sharma couldn't make it out who was that person only when he the word " baba "

He was happy to see his daughter Amairaah although she was covered with wounds and blood she was alive . And at that moment nothing more mattered . She was scared and she started crying and was crying inconsolably . Insp asked the goon " Dekho ye jo bhi hai humare bich ki baat hai . Meri beti ko bich me lane ki jarurat nahi . " The goon replied " Yaha toh me tere biwi ko bhi lana chahte tha sale . Par kya kare usko behosh krne k ke chakkar me sali tapak gyi . " And this was the movement when the world came crashing down him .

Immediately the goon held Amairaah by hand and separated her from her father . He pushed her in another corner .

The other goon came dangerously near her . Amairaah could feel his breathe on her neck . Slowly he moved his fingers across her wounds . Amairaah squirmed in pain . He whispered in her ear . " Your father was given a choice to save his life or to save the lives of 350 other people . What do you think he chose ? " He held her by the hair now . "You get away from.my daughter this moment." Amairaah's father shouted . And he was punched again for opening his mouth . Amairaah very slowly answered "The other people ." The goon again came near her and started kissing her neck and when he was about to reach her lips he said " Yes sweetheart yes. But since you are such a beautiful girl I would give you another chance . Do you wanna change your father's answer ?" Amairaah was scared she could easily see the lust in his eyes . She turned her face towards her father . Her father just signelled her to answer no . She was too tired to understand what was going on so without thinking she did what her father asked her to do . She shook her to answer no ! And that was it .

Without wasting another second the goons aimed their gun at her father and shot him . 5 bullets were fired continuously and Amairaah couldn't registered what was happening . The goon that was holding her moved apart from her.

She became as stiff as a stone . She couldnt see her father in this condition . She was not ready to go near him . But with a very weak voice Her father called out her name " Amairaah".

This made amairaah run towards her father as fast as she could .

She cried " baba...baba...ye kya ho gya hai??"

her father caressed her hair with his blood filled hands and said " sshh , listen to me very carefully " Amairaah was in no mood to listen she wanted to help her father but she was useless . Insp Sharma again held her hand and said " Its too late amu . Nothing can be done now . I want you to listen to me very carefully . You don't how proud it was to be a father to two very brave and beautiful daughters . Always remember what your mother taught you, remember what I taught to you and always obey your sister . Tell shreya that no matter what she thought she was and would always be my most favorite daughter . " The blood flow had increased and Amairaah couldn't controll her sobs "Baba" she cried. Her father rubbed his hand on her back in circles to console her . He knew this action would make her silent . It always did .And when she became silent their eyes met . But suddenly she saw something vanish from her fathers pair of eyes leaving them blank and empty .

The hand that held her fell on the floor making a thud.

And her father was no more . "

( END OF FLASHBACK )

4 years had passed since this incident . Amairaah had never told anybody what actually happened on that day . The story that people knew was the one recorded by the goons when they were caught . The police had tried to take her statement . But she didnt utter a word . She never could . One thought always crossed her mind Had she said yes when the goons offered her the choice was there a possibility of her father being alive now .

But they had died in front of her eyes and she couldn't do a damn thing. Her both parents died and she survived . And because she survived she died everyday .

Yes she was angry on her sister . Nothing could change how shreya had behaved with her father . But more than that she was scared .

What if she had to face this all over again . What if instead of father this time she had to see shreya die . Afterall she was going to be surrounded by such people only .

One time this happened she hardly handles herself well , If this happens second time she would not have the courage to live .

She didnt shed tears when she remembered her parents ,infact she hadn't cried after their funeral. She was too stoned to do that .

She kept the photoframe back in the drawer and took out the bottle of sleeping pills .

She knew she wouldn't be able to sleep tonight without them and afterall Sleep wasn't just sleep now-a- days ,

Sleep was an escape !!


	5. chapter 5

2 weeks had passed after that heated argument between shreya and Amairaah . Things seemed to be back to normal . Shreya was moulding into her new job . She was getting used to the fact of seeing corpses more often .

She had good encouraging seniors and a lot could be learnt from them . She was accompanied by the best co-workers she could ever get . In short these people were making her life a little less difficult . There was this one guy though Shreya used to talk like he was something special . Amairaah thought finally " Shreya's got a new crush !! " . And tonight's dinner was no different . Shreya was continiously blabbering about this guy !

She was going on about his physique , Strength and her kind hearted he was . She was talking so continiously that it was becoming difficult for amairaah to catch up !! The only thing she could remember was a tall muscular guy with a hieght of 6'2" and the slap he gives the criminals after which they start talking like some totas !

The dinner was done and both retired to bed . Next day was off for Amairaah but it was an early shift for shreya !

Amairaah woke up around 8 . She was doing every chores taking her time. She knew she had a lazy day ahead . Other than meeting kavya she was just going to spend the remaining day in front of her laptop watching movies !

Since she the had the time today , she decided to visit the old age home her mom used to always visit . It had been a long time she had visited that place .

She had her breakfast and left for the home . After that she was going to meet kavya for lunch.

( Daya and sachin in their qualis )

"Sir aaj bohot dino baad mauka mila hai kahi jane ka . CID ki duty krte krte ghumna fir sab band hi ho gya hai . "

Sachin said to daya .

"Baat to sayi kahi sachin . Isiliye jab mauka milta hai nikal pado ! " daya replied .

" Waise sir apne btaya nahi hum kaha jaa rahe hai ? Aap bade excited hai wana jane k liye ! " Sachin asked with curiosity .

"Tumhe woh mera dost yaad hai na dr. Rahul usne ek jagah btayi thi . Humare jo retired army officers hai na unke liye ek " Ashray " naam ki jagah hai wohi jaa rahe !"

They reached the place and daya parked the car . After entering the reception they introduced themselves as cid isnpector daya and sachin . The man in the reception was seen wearing a plain khadi kurta pyjama . After hearing those names his eyes sparkled . He immediately replied " Jee haa dr. Rahul ne btaya tha ki aap log ayenge . Aaiyee me aapko andar leke chalta hu . "

The man took both of them inside . He told them about how this institution houses the soldiers retired from army who don't have any families . There were pictures of army battalions , weapons , Fotoes from the border check post of the countries on the walls everywhere . Surely any cop would love it here .

After walking through the corridors they reached the main hall where the man told that all of the war veterans had gathered about some book reading .

Daya opened the room very slowly and this was the first look he had of her .

Wearing a simple pink and white kurta she was reading something .

She looked so engrossed that it appeared she was deaf to the world . There was fog on her specks maybe because of the steaming tea kept in front of her . It wasn't distrubing though because by the looks of it she was nearing the end of the book . Daya listened closely to what she was reading -

 _ **"We tell stories and people get on with it . But for us it was a shadow war . There were no parades for us when the war was over . No medals and no mentions in the history text books . We did what we had to do during the war , we fought and when it was over we picked up the pieces and started our life all over again . "**_

With that, the girl closed the book . There was such a silence after the last line was complete that the closing of book made a thud sound .

She knew the book was emotional and now she had to lighten up the mood . She picked her tea cup and poured the tea in the saucer . But instead of drinking it calmly she started making the 'srrrrr ' noise . And this cut of the tension within the room . Another veteran started doing the same thing and the whole room burst in laughter.

The whole.picture had changed within minutes and the room smelled of happiness .The girl wasn't seen in the crowd now.

The man took daya and sachin inside and started introdu tocing them to the veterans .

The time had been spent well in the company of such good people .

Daya smiled as he remembered about the girl but she had left so quickly that he never had a chance to meet her . He again came back to reality and started walking towards their car. When they were sitting inside the car, sachin noticed something and said -" Sir waha dekhiye . "

Amairaah was sitting on the bench waiting for kavya . God this girl never be on time she thought .

She saw the images of two well built men coming towards her but was again disturbed by her phone's vibration . She was opening the message on her fone just when she realised they were standing in front of her .

One of the man said , " Hello , woh humne actually aapko andar book padhte hue suna . Bohot achcha laga . aapke umar k log jab aisa krte hai toh we feel good . After all un logo ko jitna appreciate kiya jaye kam hi hai . "

"Hmm." came a cold hard reply . Amairaah did that without even looking at them .

That came a shock for both of them . But then Sachin realised that maybe she was talking like this because they had not introduced themselves . But as he was about to say " Dont worry hum koi awara ladke nahi hai this is insp..." , Amairaah bought her other hand to mouth and smoked . This was a second shock .

Daya astonishingly said , " Aap wohi ladki hai na jo andar un logo ke liye itta kuch kar rahi thi aur aap yaha ake smoke kar rahi hai . " Amairaah didn't reply .

Sachin said angrily , " Hello miss . Hum aapse baat kar rahe hai ."

And this made arrogant amairaah back again . " Jee haa me wohi ladki hu jo andar book padh rahi thi and wohi ladki abhi yaha cigarette pi rahi hai . Aapko koi takleef . Waise bhi aap kaun hai na me janti hu aur me kaun hu ye aap nahi jante . So its okay you dont have to worry about it so much . And agar aap ye soch rahe honge ki ladki hoke ye smoke krri toh aapko pta hai iss desh me problem kya hai ? Smoking krne se ladko k lungs kharab hote hai and ladki ka character . I mean this is quite a puzzle , ekto ladkiya lungs k bina paida hoti hai ya ladke character k bina . "

Just then they heard a car honking and amairaah left. Kavya had come .

Sachin and daya were still looking confused . Sachin said , " kamal hai sir ek taraf itni bholi bhalbhali ladki aur yaha itni badtameez . aajkal ki generation bhi na . "

" Chodo sachin , waise bhi ladkiya pagal hi lagti hai mujhe . "

With that they left .

(In kavya's car )

Amairaah was scolding kavya . " Kabhi toh jaldi ate ja kavya. Teri wajahse se baithna padta hai toh koi bhi log ake baat krna lag jata hai." Kavya smile. This was not new to her .

" The toh bade hot munde . waise kaun the woh ? " kavya asked winking .

" Mujhe kya pta aur mujhe kya krna hai woh log kaun the aur kaun nahi . kuch naam bta rahe the apna par maine uske hi pehle suna di unko . " Amairaah replied

Kavya facepalmed herself , " Kya karu me amairaah tera ? Kisi ko bhi suna k rakh deti hai tu . bhagwan kya krna hoga mujhe ???" Kavya said dramatically . " Time pe ana hoga ." amairaah replied slapping her on shoulder .

Amairaah remembered she had gotten a message from her sister but those stupid jerks . " Dekh unki wajah se di ka bhi msg check krna reh gya. " She said opening the message . The message read - " **Friends comming for dinner tonight . Dont mess with the house and be on your best behavior. "**

She put her head heavily on the head rest of the seat .

( In the bereau )

Sachin and daya had just reached the bureau . Purvi cane happily towards them and said , " Sir aap jab bahar gye the tab shreya k ghar dinner ka plan bana hai . 8pm sharp. yaadse ana hai aapko . " Shreya also came there and invited both of them . They said yes . With that shreya , purvi and sachin left . Daya was smiling alone . Noticing this Abhineet came from behind and stumped him . " Kya baat hai daya . Abhi tak uske ghar pohoche nahi aur abhise hasna shuru ? Sabar kar mere bhai , sabar kar ."

abhijeet said. Daya replied without stopping his smile ! " kya boss tum bhi na kuch bhi keh deto ho kabhi kabhi ! chalo ghar chalte hai sab nikal gye hai . " The whole department knew that shreya was secretly in love with daya but only abhijeet knew that daya had started to develop the same feelings for her .

Amairaah and kavya had their lunch and were sitting on the park bench . They kept on talking and never realised it was way past their time to return home . When the realised they hurriedly made their way to the vehicle. As they were walking some young boys started whistling towards them . They ignored them easily but when again one of the boys said ,

" Oye chikni ladkiyo , jara hume bhi toh tumhe chukar dekhne do . " Amairaah told kavya to ignore them but then again some guy came up with another cheap dialogue . This was it for kavya . She went towards them with anger .

The guys were still smiling when one of them said to the others , " Bhai khudse chalke aa rahi hai idhar . Pehle kaun no. lagvayga ? " and the next moment kavya had slapped him hard .

Everybody could see the anger boiling on the boy's face . He was about to repeat what kavya had done to him when a hand just stopped him . Kavya looked at the hand and she saw the tatoo and felt a sigh of relief . This guy held the one of the boys with collar and said " ayinda agar kisi ladki k 20 feet k dayre k andar dikha na toh jail jane ki bhi halat me nahi rahega . "

The bad boys had left . Another guy came and said " pagal ho kya tum dono itte raat me aisi jagah akele baithe ho . Agar me aur ehsaan nahi ate toh kya krte fir ? "

Amairaah came running to the spot . She checked kavya for injuries . Kavya said sorry to laksh when the 4 of them were about to leave to Amairaah saw something . And she just patted on ehsaan' s shoulder . Ehsaan said , " kya hua amu ? " Amairaah was not speaking when he again asked what happened . To this Amairaah just raised her hand to show them something .

The boys that had just been tought a lesson they were coming back with the other gang members with long bamboos in there hand .

Only one word was uttered by ehsaan , " BHAAGO " and they ran with full speed . They couldnt find their car in the parking and that means only one option left. They had to run and they had to run like crazy .

They kept running and running untill they found Amairaah house in sight . And taking a final deep breathe they rushed towards her house .

One of the gang members saw them running towards the house . He was about to go behind them when the other member stopped him and said ,

" Ruk jaa , dikh nahi raha kya woh kisi police officer ka ghar hai . Ghar k samne jo gaadiya khadi hai woh dekh . Kaunsi jung kaha rokni hai pta rehna chahiye .Chal yaha se ab aur chod unka picha ." With that they left .

The four friends ehsaan , lakshya , kavya and amairaah made a mad dash home .

They had reached the home safely but since they were running so madly they couldn't controll their speed and literally barged through the door .

Amairaah was the first one to thurst herself heedlessly and unceremoniously through the door . And the moment she entered the door she crashed with someone huge . Only 2 sounds were heard . " Ouch " amairaah said without looking up . And kavya said " Shit " looking at a room full of people fron shreya' s workplace . She knew they were doomed .

Amairaah was getting up when she saw the man she had crashed with . She tought she had seen him some where but couldn't gather it . She thought of leaving it and was about to go to her room when she remembered where she had seen him .

THIS MAN HAD SEEN HER SMOKE AND HE SURELY MUST NOT HAVE FORGOTTEN HOW SHE HAD TALKED TO HIM .

But amairaah not only remembered this . She also remembered what her sister was usally talking about . The same thing floated in her mind .

 _ **" This guy he is the best . Hieght me 6'2" hai . muscle, tole, shole bhi mast hai . Aur kya jhapad marta hai mujrimo ko , ek jhapad khane k baad sab tote saman bole lagte hai . Sr. inspector daya ki toh baat hi alag hai . "**_

As amairaah was remembering every word of shreya she was comparing it with the man standing in front of her . And thats when she realised ,

1\. This was the man shreya had crush upon

2\. This was the man who had seen her smoke .

3\. This was the man she had talked so rudely.

4 . This was **Sr. inspector daya**

And she knew , hell just broke loose !!


	6. Chapter 6

Amairaah gulped down her breathe . Her eyes only inches away from his . How many mirrors did she break to have this kind of bad luck in a single day she thought .

Apparently this was supposed to be their first meet and the eye contact they were maintaining should have been friendly, respectfull and amiable . It was not shocking for her that his eyes were glaring in to hers demanding an obvious explantion .

Unknowingly her eyes too lowered down in submission . The silence was broken when Abhijeet said , " Daya , bichari ko itna kya ghur raha hai , sirf takkar hi toh mari hai usne . Dara mat jyada use . " With this voice they both returned to reality .

Daya realised immediately that this was not the place for discussion . He was the first one to broke the awkward eye contact and said , " Nahi boss me kaha dara raha hu . Me toh khud shocked tha ki kaun itni badtameezi se takra gya krke."

He said that with a hint of cockiness in his voice and particularly concentrating on the word 'badtameezi' . After hearing this shreya thought that daya might not have liked that and so she in a kind of rough tone asked amu , " Amairaah aise koi ghar me ghusta hai kya . Kitna baar samjhaya hai thik se raha kar karke par shaitani kam hi nahi hoti teri . "

The situation was becoming more and more awkward for her and it could be sensed fron her body language . She got up to get into her room when shreya further asked , " Itta bhag bhag k kaha se aa rahe ho ?

Sabki itti sase kyu fuli hui hai ? "

This irrirated amairaah . She didnt need any interrogations now . There was too much of audience for that . She was about to retort arrogantly but kavya sensed this and abruptly spoke , " Woh car mil nahi rahi thi aur amu ko late hora tha isiliye ..." . Of course this was the truth , in that hustle bustle they couldn't find the car and had too run for their lives . But when these people knew only half the story about the car and not the goons who are they to believe it . "Car nahi mil rahi thi matlab . Kavya tum log toh tumhare ghar le the na , ghar pe car kaise nahi mil rahi thi ? " Amairaah touched her forehead with her index finger and thumb . *ting ting * irritation level crossed beyond the limits . She was about to retort when ehsaan interrupted her again "pa..pa .. parking me nahi mil rahi thi car ! " he said . Shreya again asked in which parking . And this was it for Amairaah . She said , "Kya yaar shreya di , ghar pe to kam se kam cid wala attitude utar k ate jao ." She was about to go further when lakshya interupted her again "Amairaah " He said a little bit louder so that Amairaah could stop at least now . " Woh car ki chabi parking me gir gyi aur mil nahi rahi thi isiliye aise aye hum . " Lakshya replied . And finally shreya accepted it .

Kavya signelled amairaah for something and amairaah nooded her head to say absolutely no. But kavya gazed her angrily and she had no option . Gathering herself properly she lowered her head and with a very low voice she said to daya " I am sorry " .

Tarika came near shreya and said , "Are shreya , thik hai bacche hai masti toh karenge . tum bhi kya leke baithi ho . Pehle hi meeting me dara k rakh diya unko . "

Shreya replied with a nod and asked all four of them toh go freshen up and come for dinner . But the three of them generously declined the offer saying that they were just here to drop Amairaah .

Suddenly those goons seemed much easier than the people in this room . As they were leaving very lightly ehsaan signelled something to amiaraah about her leg . It wasn't seen by anybody except daya . Of course he was going to notice that . He had his radar pointed towards amairaah now .

Amairaah hastened herself towards her room .

Shreya apologized to daya and he said its fine . They proceded towards the dining room . Purvi asked shreya , " Are shreya, tumne kabhi tumhare behen k barime baat nahi ki . Kya krti hai woh ? " Shreya replied , with a smile " kya btau , intern hai medical college me . Seedhese baat krna bilkul nahi pasand . Jhagda krna shauk hai . Har din ek jhagda toh krke ana hi hai . Naye log nahi Pasand in fact kabhi kabhi toh lagta ki use koi bhi log nahi pasand . "

Everybody laughed at this introduction . Fredricks said , " Bapre sir . Aajtk kisiko apni behen ka aisa introduction dete nahi suna ! " Everybody dissolved in laughter again . But shreya continued , " Par isme uski koi galti nahi hai . Maa baba jane k baad se hi aise behave krni lagi hai . Jab maa baba ki death hui toh uske pass koi nahi tha, me bhi 5 din tak aa nahi saki . Mujhe nahi pta use kya face krna pda hoga . " The Expression changed suddenly when abhijeet asked . " 5 din tak aa nahi saki matlab ? " Shreya told them that her parents had died the day she boarded her plane to USA and how she remained out of contact during that time , how she came to know a about the news only when she had landed in New york and how almost a week had passed when she returned .

Daya felt sad . But this did not lower his anger about her behaviour this afternoon and not any story shreya told justified her habit of smoking . His train of thoughts was broken by abhijeet saying , " Oye daya , kaha kho gya hai aaj tu . Ek toh bichari bachchi ko dara ke rakh diya woh bhi itta ki abhi tak niche nahi ayi woh khana khane aur abhi tu bhi khana nahi khara . " The mood had lightened again . Shreya said them to continue with their dinner and she will just make amairaah come down . But daya stopped her . " Ruko shreya , tum khana khao . Me jake baat krke ata hu . " daya said to which shreya nodded .

(In Amairaah's room )

Amairaah entered the room feeling tired . Physically , mentally and emotionally . Thankfully the guy didn't spit it out about the smoking habit . Other wise a whole new chaptered would have been opened . But now she was very much confident daya would want to talk to her . And the meet wasn't going to be pleasing . This she knew from the moment they had this sinfully horrifying eye contact . She plopped on the bed and thought

' One day at a time ' For now her main concerns were going down and facing a bunch of people . And the leg of course , How did she forget that .

She raised her leg a little bit and pulled her pants up . The burn must have got awfully worse because even moving the leg was painful . And she was right . The burn had gotten worse . It had reddened and became sore . It needed urgent attention .

Thankfully she was in the medical field she tought .

Amairaah cleaned the wound with cold water and started to debrief it with whatever instrument would come in handy .

And man debriefing the wound without numbing caused pain . So much that she wanted to scream out loud but she couldn't . Amairaah hadn't told anybody down there about the injury . That could have made the matters worse .

She heaved a sigh of relief when she was done with this step . Now only applying the ointment , putting some bandage over it and hiding it . Thats it she thought .

Limping because of her burnt leg ,she searched the drawers for any kind of ointment and she found some silver nitrate cream . This could do it for a while Amairaah thought . And started applying it .

The first touch and it hurt like hell . "damn kavya" she cursed . What was the need to slap those guys ?? If they had simply ignored them and walked to the car then neither they had to run for their life and neither she would have to search the parking for car and nor her leg would have touched a silencer of the bike and at least for a time being she would have had less troubles for the day .

She had applied the cream and now just the bandage was remaining . She cut the gauge with scissors and started wrapping it around her leg . Amairaah was unable to tie it though . She tought to herself that she had done it for a couple of times now . This shouldnt be that difficult . But it wasn't getting easy . May be it was because of the angle she thought . She tried to shift her leg a little bit and tried again . But failure.. failure... failure...She threw up her hands in surrender and cursed again . "Holy mother of hell , At least make this one easy for me on this day ." she shouted mildly . Taking a deep breath she thought of trying again but when her hands just got near the leg , She saw two hands tying the bandage . She looked to who it was and it was none other than daya .

"NOOOO.." Not again she cried mentally . She didnt want to face this guy today . She already had it enough . Thinking this she just retorted back trying to get away from his touch .

Sensing her motion daya tightly held her leg in one place and he again started working . "Its ok sir . You dont have to do it . Me patch kar lungi and I will be down there in a minute or two. " Daya didn't paid any attention . God this man , Amairaah thought . There was only one way of getting rid of him now . " Excuse me sir , you didn't understand . I dont want you to do it . REALLY you don't have to do it ." Hearing this daya tightened the hand with which he was holding amairaah's leg. Amairaah winced in pain . Anger was seen in his eyes when he made the ' sinfully horrible ' eye contact and with a strict , bossy voice he said " badtameezi nahi " . Woah this was totally new to her . Somebody new was showing her authority in her own room . At least after her father nobody had done that .

Daya was done patching her up. " Hogaya " he said as he got up . Once he was up he let his hands towards her . Amairaah thought that he was helping her to get up . "Its fine . Me khud ajaungi . aapko takleef lene ki jarurat nahi " She said . " Me tumhara cigerette ka pack mangra hu . Jitte hai tumhare pass abhi ke abhi yaha mere hath pe hone chahiye ." Daya replied . Of course how could she be so stupid . Why would anybody want to help her . The way she talked , He should have left her in pain . How foolish she thought of asking him not to help . Why the hell he would wanna help . She laughed at her own foolishness . But then she saw that daya's hand hadn't changed its position . He moved his fingers and asked for the cigerettes again . Amairaah's hand sheepishly went inside her back pockets and she took out an almost new pack of Marlboro cigarettes .

It didn't take much effort to get that daya thought . He asked her again . " bedroom me aur kahi hai koi box ? chupaya hua ? "

Amairaah replied angrily , "Nahi hai ".

There was no guilt on Amairaah's face . She didn't look upset about the box either . She wasnt going to smoke inside the house anyway and cigarettes were not a rare expensive thing , she knew she could get them in any corner of the city .

" Agar aajke baad mujhe tum koi bhi jagah par smoking krte hue najar ayi toh next time itti lightly chize nahi lunga . Doctor banne wali ho aur firbhi smoking krte hue sharam nahi ati . " Daya said. Amairaah replied coldly ,"Its okay sir you dont have to worry about me . Aapke pass baki bohot important chize hongi. Isme aap apna waqt jaya na kare toh behetar hai . " Daya smiled at her arrogance . With his stern voice he said , " You dont Miss Amairaah Sharma how much trouble you are in . In the next two days I am going to free my afternoon young lady so that you and me can discuss your stupid habit of smoking and why the hell you have a burn wound which is generally seen in a bike accident . And when we meet you better keep your arrogance and attitide at your home . You dont wanna make it more troublesome for yourself . Khana khane niche ajao . Sab intezaar kar rahe hai . " Saying this he left .

What did shreya see in this guy ??? Amairaah thought to herself . She wasnt looking forward to meet daya. Not in two days , not in life . Why does he wanna care . " I dont need the care . I dont need the love . " she said . He was not her father and she was certain she didn't need one . " Uhhh , Why do people exist ? " She shouted angrily but carefully so that no one would hear and started to take the stairs downwards wishing for this day to be over soon .


	7. Chapter 7

( Next day in college )

Amairaah and kavya were sitting in the canteen waiting for Lakshya and ehsaan .

"Mujhe samajh me nahi ara kavya , me kya karu . Nahi karni hai mujhe unse baat . Agar jake di ko btana hai toh bta de . Par mujhe kisi bhi chiz pe baat nahi krni . Ek baat krte hai toh 10 chize bahar ati hai . Kyu logo ki life me itna interfere krna rehta hai .." Amairaah said to kavya .

Kavya replied , "Interfere nahi kar rahe woh. Madad kar rahe . Aur normal log yahi krte hai. Now its not his fault ki tu abnormal hai . Aur waise bhi kya jarurat thi unse aise baat krne ki . Samne dekh toh lena na muh upar krke ki kaun hai krke . Aur agar koi aur bhi hai uske jagah pe , toh bhi tera behaviour din badin kuch jyada ki bakwas hota jaa raha hai . Kabtk logo ko dur krte rahegi apne se . Ye jo tera tarika hai na..'I am fine . I dont need anyone ' isse jyada bewakoof chiz maine duniya me dekhi nahi hai . Aur agar shreya di and woh officer daya koi serious relation me hai toh kya Karengi tu . You will have to answer to him . kab tak avoid kregi . "

"Kya chalra raha hai bhai " ehsaan asked as he and lakshya were taking seats . Amairaah told them the whole story . " Jana toh pdega Ab kya kregi tu " Lakshya said laughingly . " Don't laugh yaar. Me yaha itne serious problem me fasi hu . " Ehsaan interrupted her in betweeb and said , " Waise kya banda hai woh . Aisa lagta hai ki ek hi banda kafi hai unki team me tod fod krne k liye . " Everybody laughed at that . Amairaah said , " Aree its totally right . Kal raat hum 4 jan takraye tab jake darwaja khula . Di toh kehti hai ki daya ek lath marta hai aur darwaja tut jata hai . And upar se uska

ghurna . I swear Agar looks could kill , his eyes are the weapon of mass destruction .Thank God woh dusra officer kal busy tha isiliye dinner pe nahi aya . Nahi toh kal toh shamat hi thi meri ." Everone was laughing at this untill kavya started coughing . All three of them thought that it was due to the food that got into the wind pipe . But when they all traced her eyes at what she was staring - They saw the weapon of mass destruction himself.The one they were talking about .

Kavya slowly said " Maaaareee gyeee."

Amairaah slapped her thigh and asked daya " Daya sir , aap yaha . Aap yaha kyu aye . Aap toh phone krne wale the na . "

Daya smiled inside how scared she had became on seeing him . Of course his eyes were the weapons of mass destruction he thought . He laughed at that again but put on straight face and answered Amairaah , " Haa me krne wala tha phone . Par jitta me tumhe janta hu tum toh mera phone uthane se rahi . Toh me hi agya . Toh chale ab ? " Amairaah's eyes widened at the last sentence . Daya today looked way cooler than what he was yesterday . It looked like he had resolved his thoughts . But Amairaah didn't wish to talk with him . She crossed her hands and said , " Nahi mujhe nahi jana kahi ." Everybody thought that this would anger daya . But Daya was indeed very resolved today . Very calmly he said , " Amairaah , maine tumhe option nahi diya hai . Aur maine kal hi tumse kaha tha to controll your arrogance . But khair koi nahi apna saman lo and lets go ." Amairaah was scared he knew that . Though she hid her emotions very well Daya was now understanding her . " Amairaah me tumhe khane wala nahi hu. Don't worry . A few questions of mine. A few answer of yours. Thats it . You dont have to be scared about it . " Amairaah was surprised . No being surprised was an understatement . Amairaah was shocked . How does he know that I am scared she thought .Due to her arrogant nature nobody was ever able to figure out what she was thinking but here was Daya who in a one go had exactly figured her out . Kavya pushed her towards Daya signalling her to go with him . What was the other option she had . Daya smiled finally . He forwarded his hand towards her . He had seen her wound . He knew it was going to pain for at least a week . So to help her he gave her a hand . Amairaah was again shocked .' Kal hi toh ek packet diya tha. Ab filhal kuch nahi hai mere pass dene k liye ' She thought . She was continiously staring at Daya's hand not knowing what to do exactly . Daya smiled at her again . " Ghur kya rahi ho . Isbaar sahime me madad krne k liye hath age kiya hai . Kuch mangne k liye nahi . pakdo ise ...ek ..ek ..ek sec. Tumhare jeb me firse koi cigar ka pack toh nahi na ?? " Amairaah still absorbing the shocks she was receiving nodded negatively . " chalo good . " With one hand helping Amairaah he put his other hand on her shoulders securely and said " Come on ! We have lots to discuss". They walked towards the car and Daya even opend the door for her and helped her sit .

This was strange for Amairaah . Nobody had done these things for her in the past years .

They started their journey . It was total silence . Amairaah wasn't good at talking anyways . She rested her head on the closed window and escaped in the world outside. It was a rainy day . The roads were wet and the window glass was covered in water drops .

Daya broke the silence and asked Amairaah , " Pair kaisa hai ab ? Abhi bhi dard kr raha hoga hai na ? "

Amairaah said, " Nahi, ab thik hai ." Although it was far away from fine . It had pained all night and the day was no different . But Amairaah didn't like to talk about her injuries . Daya knew that she was in pain but he decided not to stretch that thing .

The remaing whole ride was silent . Amairaah didn't utter a word. She just kept looking outside . Daya also silently kept driving but was stealing some glaces at her in between . She looked tired he thought . There were slight bags under her eyes that made Daya to reach to a conclusion that she was perhaps not a good sleeper .

Daya had spent whole night thinking how to make this girl talk to him . He was angry . He definitely was. But he knew that this wouldn't help . He had to be calm and very soft spoken . Something Amairaah was used to so much . Perhaps she would break the walls and start talking he thought .

They reached a coffee shop and daya parked the car . Amairaah wasn't expecting this also . She thought Daya would take her to some serious place , any other place but not some casual restaurant . " Coffee shop kyu ? Mujhe laga aap apne ghar me ya bureau me bulayenge . " Daya laughed at her antics . " Bereau me " He asked jokingly " Tum mujrim nahi ho koi . Chalo ab . Suna hai yaha coffee achchi milti hai . " They sat in the corner table and gave their orders . Now the difficult part . " The Talk " . Amairaah was a mess of unfinished thoughts. What exactly he wants go know , Is he going to ask or do I have to tell ,Where should I start etc etc . Daya sensed her restlessness and looked out of the window . He did it purposely to help her gather herself and resolve her thoughts . Amairaah for thankful to him for his action . After 3-4 mins as if sensing Amairaah's resolve Daya looked back to her and smiled . He pinched the bridge of his nose and kept his both hands on the tables interlocking them .

"So , whats going on in life ? kya chal raha hai zindagi me ? " He asked his first question . Well this was easy Amairaah thought . She gave a very slight smile and said , " Nothing much . College me internship and then ghar pe . " Daya appreciated that . At least she was comfortable talking . " Woh teeno dost hai tumhare ? " He asked again . Amairaah liked this question also . She again aswered very calmly , " Haan. Kavya , Ehsaan aur laksh . Hum sab sath me hi krte hai college, padhai ghumna wagre " Their orders had came . Both of them mixed some sugars with their coffee and took a sip . Daya placed his cup back on the table and asked , " Aur, smoking ? " Amairaah gulped down the coffee . She immidiately looked down in embarrassment . Daya had expected this . But today he was not going to lose his cool . Not today . Again very calmy he said , " Amairaah, maine kuch pucha tumse . Kya woh log bhi tumhare sath smoke krte hai ??" Amairaah kept looking at her hands and looking down only she asnwered no. This relieved daya a bit . At least she was not in bad company .This were only her issues .He looked at Amairaah sipping his coffee . She was still looking down . He said , " Amairaah , as much as your hands look interesting I would appreciate it if you answer with your head up and eyes looking at me ." Listening to this Amairaah looked staright and said " Nahi, smoking ki adat sirf mujhe hai . Unhe nahi ." Daya nodded his head in acknowledgement and proceeded further . "Kabse kar rahi ho smoke ? " Now how should I answer that , Amairaah thought . If she says the truth that she had been smoking for 2 years would it be too much or she should just lie and say around 6 months . Ya perfect 6 months she thought . But before she could speak , " Sach bolna . Me kuch nahi krunga . Jhooth boli toh pakdi jaogi . " Amairaah was shocked . Again . For the fourth time in this day . Could this man read her mind or what she thought . She brushed away those thoughts and with no other options , she aswered him with truth that she had been smoking for 2 years .

Daya was disappointed in this . But at least she was honest . He again pinched his bridge of nose and asked , " Any specific reason for smoking ? " Amairaah didnt had any answer for that . Of course she told herself that she smoked because she was lonely bit the truth was no reason was strong enough for her habit. She nodded in a simple no . " Abhi ek saal me tum doctor banne wali ho Amairaah and I know you are a bright student . I hope tumhe smoking ke hazards pta honge . " Daya asked again maintaining his composure . "I know that smoking is dangerous sir . Me toh bas woh..." suddenly she felt short of words and became silent . " Kya me toh bas woh.. Yeh sab bekar ki adate hai Amairaah . Pal bhar ke satisfaction krte krte baki puri life me problems create krke rakh dete hai ye . Haan kuch logo ka kehna rehta hai ki hum humare dard bhare din gujarne k kiye ye sab krte hai . Par ye sab bakwas hai . Aur ye tumne logo ko samjhana chahiye par ulta tum hi.." He tried to knock some sense into her head . Amairaah apologized . Daya Asked-ordered her not to smoke any futher . And if she has any problem or difficulties with that she can always come to him . He assured her . They both had finished their coffee during this time and Amairaah thought this was the end of discussion . But it wasn't at least not for Daya .

" Kal raat kya hua tha ? " he asked . Amairaah questined him with " kal raat ?" to exactly what he wanted to know. "Kal raat tumhare pair pe jalne ka nishan kaise aya ? Aise nishan maine aksar tabhi dekhe hai jab koi bike accident me involved rehta hai aur uski skin bike ke silencer ko touch krti hai ? Kal raat tum bhag ke kaha se aye the ? " Amairaah lowered her stiffened shoulders and thought how much long this discussion was going to last . Meanwhile Daya cleared his throat signifying he was waiting for an answer . Amairaah again looked down and started telling the story about how the goons had started the fight and the slap . She was continuing her story when she saw Daya's hand near her chin .

Daya bought his hands near Amairaah's face and moved her head upwards by tapping her chin with his fingers and said to her . " Dont talk to your hands. " She blushed at this action . She continued about how they had to run from that spot.

Daya was getting more and more furious . Though he had decided not to lose his cool but how could he maintain it . He drank water from and the glass and said to Amairaah , " How foolish can you guys act ? Aise log pta hai tumhe kitne khatarnaak ho sakte hai . Koi bhi hathiyaar ho sakta Hai unke pass . Aur phone kyu nahi kiya tumne shreya ko . Hum ajate wahape ? " Daya scolded her . Amairaah said she was sorry and next time she wouldn't do like that . Daya finally calmed down and said , "I hope your actions mean what you say Amairaah . You are a good and a responsible girl ,right ? I hope you dont put your life in danger neither with smoking nor by fighting with goons . Okay ??? ." She smiled at that . It was a genuine smile . Anybody who had seen that would have said the same . That smile reached her eyes . It was along time she hadn't smiled like that . " Chalo. Aaj k liye itta hi kafi Hai . Shreya bhi ghar pohochti hogi . Me tumhe ghar drop kr deta hu . " They paid their bills and left . Daya again helped her inside the car and they drove off towards shreya's house .

They were home before shreya and Amairaah was thankful for that . She thanked Daya . Daya told her to let a doctor have a look at the leg if it pains more and she nodded . Daya left when she securely went inside the house .

Amairaah directly went inside her room and sat on her bed .

There was this immense satisfaction inside her . That guy had an undiscovered and unfelt aura which now she felt would be protecting her no matter what .

Talking with him she had this satisfaction quite uncertain but still completely welcomed ...

This chapter dedicated to JS Abhi and Aditi . Thank you guys for your support and love .

Lots of love,

Chrisso


	8. chapter 8

Amairaah was sitting in an open ground smoking . She hadn't smoked for 2 days after she had talked to Daya . But today she couldnt controll it . She had to had some . It was her shot to kill the pain . She wondered if Shreya had told Daya about their past . To be honest Daya was wise enought to pull out the past file records and search for the answer himself when he doubted something . But Amairaah prayed that he didn't . She didn't need anymore sympathetic eyes . She was tired of people telling her it was going to be okay . She deeply inhaled the smoke and released the small harmfull clouds silently into the sky . She felt better with that . After 2 smokes she decided to be at home . Shreya must be back from bureau and she would need someone to listen to her stories of Daya .

Amairaah reached home in about half an hour but started counghing. She thought may be it was due to the gap of 2 days in between . ' Gotta be regular ' she thought . She drank the water and entered home . Radhabai opened the door and warned her about something . " What now ??" She thought to herself. As Amairaah entered the house she saw ACP pradyuman and shreya waiting for her . She needed to be cautious now cause this guy had mad observation skills .

"Amairaah aa gyi tum . Me tumse hi baat krne k liye ruka hua tha. Aao aao ." Then it came back to Amairaah that he had called her some days ago and they hadn't actually talked about it . Sometimes ACP sir was busy sometimes she was and in this they had completely forgotten about it some days back. " Haa woh aapka call aya tha par baadme baat nahi ho payi. Me ...me ati hu fresh ho ke." She said and went in her room. Shreya said to ACP sir " Waise mujhe Amu ke ane ke chances kum hi lag rahe hai . Aap ek baar baat karke dekh lijiye fir bhi . Par aapko pta hai woh kaise behave krti hai . " ACP sir asked shreya not to worry about that . "Ek baar baat krke dekh lete hai fir dekhenge ." he said . Shreya again asked , "Waise sir aapne office me kisiko btaya hai kya ki me D.N. Sharma ki beti hu ? I mean memorial service pe woh bhi rahenge . They all will be shocked ." " Nahi Shreya filhaal to maine kisiko btaya nahi hai . Aur tum chinta bhi mat karo. Pta chalne par me sambhal lunga . " ACP sir assured her .

Amairaah came down changing into comfortable clothes . ACP told her that the department has decided to offer a memorial service to her father , the day after tommorow . " Hume achcha lagega agar tum waha pe aaogi Amu " He told her keeping his hands on her shoulder . She became sad . Yes the day after tommorow was her parents death anniversary . She sat down on the sofa and softly said to ACP sir , " Uncle , didi hai na waha . Mujhe ane ki kya jarurat . Aur college bhi toh rahega na. " She didn't like to attend the services . She hated them . Amairaah knew they would make her emotional. Very very emotional and no she can't be that. She straight forwardly declined the offer. But ACP sir was also determined to convince her . He said that she doesnt need to worry about her college attendance . He would talk to them . Amairaah was still a bit hesitant and was trying to get out of the situation but she had to cave in .

At night ,Shreya and Amairrah were having dinner when Amairaah asked , " Ek baat bta , Tere ye jo daya sir hai. Inhe pta hai in sab ke barime ? " Shreya nodded negatively . " Toh unhe aise ekdumse pta chalega toh bura nahi lagega ?? " Shreya said that she had asked the same question to ACP sir but he said that he would handle them . "Tujhe kaise lage woh ?" Shreya asked Amairaah blushingly . " Mujhe pasand ane na ane se kya farak padta hai . Shadi tumko karni hai . Achcha hai jaldi jaldi shadi kr hi le ab tu . Mere picha toh chut jayga ." Amairaah said teasing her sister ." Are bapree !! Par tumhare naye ghar me kitta kharcha hoga " Amairaah said again . Shreya asked "kyu ?" . "Tu jo roj itna ghanto nahate baithati hai . Daya ko kuch shak hua toh use toh har roj darwaja todna pdega . " They both laughed at this . " Amu, shaitaan ki bachchi idhar aa tu . " Shreya threw a pillow at her . They were having a light time .

After they were done with the teasing , Amairaah said to shreya , " On a serious note shreya , Daya bohot achche hai . Dont worry . " Shreya smiled at that . "Bas ek problem hai ki unhe mere smoking ke barime pta hai " she said very lightly .

Shreya couldnt clearly catch that so she asked " kuch boli kya tu ? " Amairaah said no and they both went to sleep .

Next day went in jiffy . Nothing much happened at the college for Amairaah except that she was called to the Attendance incharge professor for the leave application ACP sir had submitted.

Yes legally ACP sir was her guardian . Although shreya was old enough to take that responsibility but in the beginning year it was ACP pradyuman who had taken Amairaah's legal gaurdianship. And Amairaah never asked him to step down from that mark . Amairaah knew that today ACP sir would be joining them for dinner . He always did. He never left them alone in the nights which would be difficult for them .

And she was right . ACP sir was there . They had their dinner and shreya and ACP sir were talking about info they got about the drug deal . Amairaah was getting bored so she retired to bed . She had a long day tommorow .

She was sitting in her balcony staring into emptiness when she heard a knock at the door . She opened and it was ACP sir . She asked , " Sir aap ?? " . ACP pradyuman replied " Haa me bas nikal hi raha tha socha ek baar mil lu . " . Amairaah just replied with an ohh . She knew exactly why he was here . He was here to console her. To tell her It going to be ok . The part she hated the most but it was ACP sir in front of her . She was never arrogant with this man . She never even crossed him . He was there for her when nobody else was . They had a small talk and then ACP left . Amairaah was confident that sleep wasn't going to pay her a visit so she stared at the ceiling .

(Next day)

Amairaah finished her shower and came out of the washroom . She looked herself in the mirror and thought " 50 shades of dark circles around my eyes. " She had not taken the sleeping pills yesterday . She was not sure if she would be able to wake up early taking those . Amairaah got herself ready in formal clothes and went for breakfast . She had an idea that Shreya could leave early and yes she had left early . Before leaving ,Radhabai stopped her and gave her box to give it in a temple near by . She has been doing this every year . God knows what she donates in that box Amairaah thought . But she never questioned it . She never stopped in that Temple otherwise .

( In the bureau )

As Shreya reached , Purvi was relieved to see her . The preparations were going on in full swing . Purvi came to shreya and started blabbering non- stop , " Achcha hua purvi tu agyi . Me tera intezaar hi krri thi . Chal guests ate hi honge . Hum dono Acp sir se jake Inspector Sharma ki family members ka number leke ate hai aur unke ekbaar call kr dete hai . " She literally started dragging shreya . Shreya tried to stop her . " Purvi ek min suno , woh family members ke barime..." Shreya tried to stop her but she wasnt willing to listen to her . But Shreya foecefully held purvi' s hand in hers and told her , " Purvi inspector Sharma ki Do betiyaan hai . Ek Me . Inspector Shreya Sharma aur dusri Amairaah Sharma . " Shreya spoke it loud enough for everybody to listen and this made them stop dead in their tracks. " Ye tum kya bol rahi ho shreya ? Ab tak tumne btaya kyu nahi ? " Daya was first one to ask . Next came Abhijeet , " Jab hum dinner krne aye the toh ye bta diya ki maa baba ki death hui par ye nahi btaya tumne . Kyu aisa ? " Sachin was also about to fire a question but ACP sir came out of the cabin and ordered . " Maine kaha tha use kisi se kuch nahi kehne k liye . Aur ab koi usko sawal nahi puchega . Abhijeet , Daya mere cabin me aao tum dono . " Daya looked at shreya with an unknown expression . Suddenly the girl he was in love with appeared as a total stranger . He was hurt . " Daya cabin me ane ko kaha tha na. " ACP sir again said . " Jee sir bas aya. " He went into the cabin giving an angry look to shreya .

ACP told them the whole case . He also told them that though the culprits were hanged the file was not closed because Amairaah hadn't given her statement . Suddenly Amairaah's behavior started making sense to Daya .

" Toh isiliye aap ne mujhe shreya pe dhyaan dene ko kaha tha .." Abhijeet said to his senior . " Haa , Abhijeet . Inspector sharma mere bohot achche dost the . Unke death je baad legally woh dono meri responsibility hai . " Daya was again looking at them with unknown expression but abhijeet assured him that he would tell him everything once the day is over .

" Sir ye case tab handle kisne kiya tha ?" Abhijeet asked again ." DCP CHITROLE." ACP replied angrily . He told them he was then the ACP in CID Ahemdabad . He was supposed to be falicitated after this case but how the incomplete file had stopped all that . He also told them that , If Amairaah turns up today for the programme , DCP might again have an angry fit .

After about 10 more minutes , they came out of the cabin . Shreya was waiting for Daya . As soon as he was out , she started following him , " Sir me chahti thi aapko btau par..." She was trying to make him understand about the situation but Daya said , " Shreya , Abhi iss waqt nahi . Baadme baat krenge . " Shreya nodded and continued with the preparations .

Amairaah reached the bureau . She took deep breathes before stepping out of the car . The last memories she had of any bureau were that of how some officer was forcing her to tell him something about the culprits . He was talking to her in a tone as if she was the one who had committed crime . But now she was here and she had go inside . Amairaah wasn't thinking about how the people inside there would react on seeing her . She already had a lot of things on her mind .

She entered the bereau when the programme was almost about to begin . Shreya came to receive her and showed her her place . She saw Daya and he gave her a light smile . Looks like the cats out out of the bag , Amairaah thought . The programme began with two minutes silence for her father and then people's experience with her father .

Most days Amairaah was fine . Some days she was ok . But days like these would make her heart ache . She would become numb . She can't admit that she is weak . She was so broken inside that if she would try to stand strong , She would collapse immediately . The days emotions were converted into silent sobs at night that no one could hear . Nobody deserves such days but life wasnt fair .

She was so lost in her thoughts that she never realised her sister was on the stage and even her speech was ending . Shreya said , " Yes , His death was a sad part but today as a cop myself I believe that he couldn't have died a better death . " Everybody applauded and the programme was over . Amairaah rushed towards shreya to ask her if she could leave . She had attended the programme for ACP sir's wish and now she wanted to be out of that surrounding . Suddely people scattered so randomly that it became very difficult for her to spot her sister . She was searching but again she collided with someone huge . And again she knew this is no other than Daya . She wasn't up for talking to anybody today . She just excused herself and went away from him . Today even Daya didn't stop her . From one look at her , He understood that she needs to be alone today . But should he leave her alone he thought . He doubted that because of her smoking habit . Her eyes were red and dark circles were clearly evident that she didn't sleep at night .

The day ended casually . At the end Shreya finally found Daya and talked with him . She apologized to Daya for everything . Daya held her hands very lovingly and told her that she didn't need to be the one to apologise . They shared a moment with each other and then Abhijeet called Daya . They both left the bureau as no case was reported today thankfully . Abhijeet told him how he was asked to keep an eye for shreya and everything . They both felt sad for them . But they felt more sad for Amairaah . Of course they had lost their parents . Abhijeet had lost his mother and Daya grew up in an orphanage . But Amairaah's story was different . They talked untill Daya house arrived and then said their goodbyes .

Daya came inside his house . He thought about todays happenings . He felt bad for shreya but he would not let any harm come her way now by any means . After shreya, Amairaah flooded his thoughts . Was he right in leaving her alone he thought . Shreya had been stopped by ACP sir in the bureau cause some senior authorities wanted to talk to her . So she was not to be home for another two hours . Today was a full chance that Amairaah would again retort to smoking . It was an emotional day for her today today . He picked up his fone and dialled a number .

The park was almost empty and the only people that were present were too far away from her . Amairaah inhaled deeply the smoke with satisfaction. She exhaled it in the crisp cool night air . The smoked swirled around her head . She felt nice to do it without interruption . The only source of light was a street lamp behind her . She finished her cigarette and threw it on the cold damp ground . Her hands took out another one while her legs crushed the one below ,the one that she just threw . " I thought you promised me that you wont do this again. " Came a voice behind her . She knew this voice and somewhere deep down she knew that he would come for her . Amairaah didn't stop . She moved slightly to make a place for the person that had just arrived . " Welcome Sr. inspector Daya , welcome to my world of pain , horror and death ." She said without discontinuing her smoking . Daya took one of her hands in his . Her hand was small and fragile . He bought it close to his nose and smelled it . Amairaah laughed at this action .She said " My hands smell of nicotine . Don't they ?" She laughed again ." I am sorry inspector . My hands smell of nicotine and I am not a normal girl with flowers in her head and a pretty brain . I am just a girl with a cigar in between my fingers ."

Daya looked down on the ground to see the bits and the scraps of the cigars she had blown and saw a couple of them . He was disappointed . " You are too young for this . Come one. Stop that and lets get you home in a bed . " He snatched the cigar from her mouth . " It's dangerous ." Daya again said . " Young enough to know that I can . Old enough to know that I shouldn't . Stupid enough to smoke anyway . " Amairaah replied laughing . This was becoming enough for Daya . He literally made her get up from the bench . As soon as Amairaah was up ,She felt dizzy and lost her balance .But daya held her securely . "Balance sambhalo apna ." Daya said . " Don't worry Daya sir . I am not unbalanced . I just suffered a severe disappointment ." She laughed again . He held her tightly and they both made their way to Daya's car .Daya helped Amairaah to get seated inside the car . As Daya sat inside he switched on the air conditioner . With the blast of sudden fresh air . Amairaah started coughing . Daya gave her a bottle of cold water and asked her to drink it without a hurry . They both left for Amairaah's home .

Radhabai opened the door and saw Amairaah along side Daya . She shockingly asked, " Daya saab aap ?? Par Shreya toh hai nahi ghar pe . " Daya replied , " Are nahi thik hai me usse kal subah bureau me baat kar lunga . Mujhe Woh raste me Amairaah mili toh use chodne agya . " They both came inside the house . Radha asked Daya for tea and coffee . He replied no . He just told Radhabai thay he will drop Amairaah to her room . Daya held Amairaah tightly to drop her to room . As they entered Amairaah was half sleep or half unconscious . It couldn't me made out. He made her sit on the bed and thats when he realised that Amairaah hadn't left the hold of his T shirt . Like she needed him . This melted Daya's heart . He removed her hand from his sleeves and started untying her shoelaces . He removed her footwear and pulled her up completely on the bed . He started the AC and very delicately covered Amairaah in her blankets . She looked angelic in sleep. Her Innocence that was lost during the day suddenly made a appearance at night . He caressed her forehead lovingly . Switching off the lights in the bedroom Daya left closing the door .

Half an hour later Shreya was back from the bereau . Radhabai asked her about the dinner but she told that she had it there only . The only concern for Shreya right now was Amairaah . She made a mad dash towards her room to see if she was at home . Fron what shreya had known , She was confident that Amairaah would not be there . She would be out there somewhere alone in the dark . But what she saw made her surprised . Amairaah was sleeping calmly with all the blankets draped over her properly .

It looked liked some angels were watching her over and they made her sleep tonight . She was safe . Though not fine . She was safe . Amairaah looked contended in sleep .

Without disturbing her , Shreya closed the rooms door and headed back to her room .

Little did she knew that some angel had actually started watching out for her .


	9. Chapter 9

@Aditi : Thanks :-)) . I will try to commit less mistakes from now . But do keep pointing . Its always welcomed. And thank you for your constant support .

@Sakshi662 : Thanks for your generous , kind and motivating words . Yeah I know the reviews are less and I dont want to question it why . Its because at some point I was just like you . Just read the stories and very rarely reviewed them . Honestly It was taking a lot to update cause I started having doubts about writing this. But some where deep down I knew there is always a little crowd that reads stories but does not review them . So I kept going on. But your words made me so happy that I can't express it in words . Again thank you. Lots of love.

Thank you Krish , guestii ,hehee (love that name btw :-P ) and other guests .

 **Chapter 9 :**

The hard night was over and a new morning had come . Shreya was up early . She had something in her mind . She quickly completed her morning chores and moved to kitchen . " Radhabai, aaj breakfast me bana deti hu. Aap bas meri madad kr dijiye. " Shreya said to Radhabai . Radhabai raised her eyebrows but she obliged . She liked it when the girls did something different for a change . First of all she was not at all sure about how would Shreya fit into this cop business . She was never that kind of girl. But here she was standing tall and standing strong. And besides that job was also doing good to her . It was evident that she was happy . She smiled a little more these days. Radhabai smiled at that thought as she was removing the required utensils .

Shreya had decided the menu at night only . She started chopping onions , tomatoes and the other required vegetables. Radhabai had helped her prepare some batter. She was done prepping and had a look at the watch. It's almost time she thought . " Radhabai , Amu ko utha dijiye. Usko late ho jayga. Me yahaka sambhal lungi ab . " Radhaibai left to do the tough task . Here shreya was growing anxious by the minute. It was a long time she had cooked such a proper breakfast . She put a pan on the stove and added some oil . She was about to pour the batter when suddenly someone grabbed her waist from behind .

Shreya got scared . " You should be familiar with this touch now . " Daya said as he removed some hairs from her eyes and forehead and tucked them behind her ears. Soon after hearing the voice Shreya's heart beat became normal . " Kitta darate ho daya . Chalo hato breakfast banane do mujhe . " Shreya blushed and tried to get rid of him . She was about to leave when Daya pulled her back and locked her between himself and a Pillar . " Are , ruko toh sahi . Jara dekhno toh do hume pyar se ." Shreya blushed to the brightest shade of red . " DAYA ... Radhabai , Dattu , Amairaah sab ghar pe hai koi bhi ajayga . Chodo ." Shreya was trying so hard but Daya's muscular hands very enough to stop her . Finally he let her go but he himself followed her from behind . " Kya kare bhai koi subah itna pyar se breakfast krne bulaye , Toh aap ke liye itta pyar toh banta hai . " Shreya was about to reply when she heard someone cough . The spoon fell from Shreya's hand and suddenly Daya became restless and took his seat on dining table . Amairaah laughed at both of them . How silly can both of them get she thought . "Aree Amu tu aa gyi .Chalo nashta krte hai " Shreya said trying to start a conversation . Daya was pretending that he was reading something on his cellphone . He still hadnt looked up . " Nashta krenge didiii..par kya kare aap dono ka pyar dekh k toh bichara dosa jal gya . " Amairaah said hinting at the smoke that was coming from behind . Shreya's eyes enlarged . She turned back swiftly to turn off the stove but the deed was done . The dosa showed finest shade of black . " Daya...ye sab aapki galti hai . Achchise me dosa bana rahi thi aap bichme kyu aye..Nahi aap aaye hi kyu bichme btayiee abhi ." Shreya asked angrily . "Are isme meri kya galti hai . Tumhe dosa nahi banana ata toh . " Daya replied . " Mujhe ..mujhe nahi ata . Ab aap hi khana ye jala hua jo kuch bhi hai woh . " Shreya said putting the black thing in Daya's plate . They all laughed when Radhabai came . " Are daya saab , aap fir ..." Amairaah' s eyes widened .What if she opens the fact about yesterday, about the condition in which Daya had brought her home . But she just had to had one look at her yesterday's saviour . He was already signalling Radhabai to be quite . Radhabai quickly understood and changed the topic , " Ye kya jal raha hai ? " she asked . Shreya told her how the dosa had burnt during talking . Radhabai said it was fine and she would do the rest .

In the mean time , Amairaah looked towards Daya to thank and appreciate what he had done for her uptill now . Daya had a good look at Amairaah from head to toe to see if she was fine . When he saw Amairaah saying thanks to him he just winked once to tell her it was fine . All three sat and had their breakfast . Amairaah was the first one to get up . She kept her plates in the sink and told everybody that she's leaving .

When she was opening the car , Daya came to talk to her . He asked , " Ab thik ho ? Kal itni takleef me thi ...ekbaar fone kr deti . Me ajata . " Amairaah stalled a little and said , " Woh itti raat ko aapko takleef nahi dena chahti thi bas . Aur fir me..fir me yahi sochri thi ki how...how should I deal with this problem . " She stuttered while saying this . "Achcha..Toh kya solution nikla Amairaah ji . Kya socha aapne , kaise deal krengi aap apne problems ke sath . " Amairaah looked down. She didn't have any answers . " Expected ." Daya replied ." Kya expected ?? Maine bohot socha kya krna hai kya nahi ..Aap mujhe itna bewakoof mat samjhiye ." Now Amairaah couldn't take it . She thought that Daya considered her any girl who is not able to solve a problem . This hurt her self respect . " Toh aapne socha ...hmm ?? " Daya asked again . " Haa . " Amairaah replied with a smirk . " Are kya haa haa kar rahi ho bewakoof ladki. Me puch raha hu kya socha ?" Daya asked irritatingly . " Aapne mujhe bewakoof kaha . Aur me kyu btau aapko ? Jo bhi sochna hai me sochu , jo bhi krna hai me karu . Aap ko kya ." Daya smiled , " Point no.1- Bewakoof tumne khudne khud ko kaha aur abhi prove bhi kr rahi ho . Point no. 2- Kal ka episode baadme repeat nahi chahiye . And keep in mind haa..mujhe logo ko seedha krna bohot achchise ata hai. Point no. -3 Me tumhe Dr. Rahul ka fone no. forward kar raha hu . Tumhare hi hospital me doctor hai . Unse jake tum aaj milogi aur apna pair dikhaogi ." Amairaah was okay with the first two conditions but the third . She didn't need a doctor to see her leg . She didn't like anyone poking around her injuries . She said , " Pehle do toh thik hai . Par teesra cancel karwa do aap . Uski jarurat nahi .My leg is fine now " Amairaah literally made puppy face . Daya again took a deep breathe . " Again . I am not giving you an option . Kuch thik nahi hai , Maine kal hi dekha .Tum usse milne jaogi . And ye mat sochna ki tum nahi gyi toh mujhe pata nahi chalega . Dr. rahul is always on my speed dial okay ? . Toh shaitani krne se pehle 2 baar soch lena . "

Aur ye jo tumhara attitude hai na , " Mujhe kisiki jarurat nahi . This attitude ends here . Pehle khudko 2 pairo pe balance krna seekho . Baki ki bate baadme . " Amairaah fumed with anger . " Mujhe mere pairo pe chalna ata hai ." Daya looked at her very seriously . " Kal khade rehne ko kaha tab toh aap bharatnatyam kar rahi thi " Daya said. " Nach nahi rahi thi . Ek baar gir gyi thi . Aap toh baat aise kar rahe hai ki ek baar bhi na gire ho zindagi me . Chodiye mujhe aapse baat hi nahi karni . Mujhe late ho raha hai . " As Amairaah was about to sit inside the car , Daya pulled her out and very seriously said to her , " Sau baar gir chuka hu , isiliye bata raha hu . Aur girne ke baad jab koi uthane nahi rahta tab kaise lagta hai woh bhi janta hu . Aur teri fikar karta hu isiliye tujhpe najar rakhta tu . Samjhi ?? " Amairaah nodded obidiently and left for her college .

Does he really care that much ? Amairaah thought...No Why would he . And if sanity is still there he shouldn't. May be itsJust a two or three day thing . He wouldnt care if saving me becomes a regular business . Here he is saving everybody who needs him . Not even considering the fact that he could die saving people. And here Is the girl , Amairaah Sharma who was asked if she wanted to save her father and she had replied " NO" . Her grip tightened at the steering wheel at this thought . There was literally a difference of miles between their mindsets . Amairaah then remembered yesterday's night . If Daya didn't care why he had come all the way to the park to find her . She remembered how carefully he had made her sleep . Was he really caring ? Was he really stepping into the shoes of her caretaker .

" No " you can't. Amairaah cried- whispered to herself . Amairaah's heart twisted in knots . She can't let him care for her . She was too broken too be loved and cared for . She came from a family that had dedicated their life to the safety of people. And she got one chance , one stupid chance to save her father which she had blown it just because she was too tired to understand what was going on. Thats the things she was good at . Creating a mess and letting down the people she know . Her grip on the steering wheel tightened so much that her knuckles were appearing white .

She picked up kavya and both of them headed to college . From the first look only Kavya had figured out that arrogant Amairaah was back . She tried to ask her how her meet with daya was but Amairaah didn't want to talk about that . Kavya left it. They both reached their college . As they were going to the respective department some patient crashed into Amairaah on the way and all the things she was carrying fell on the ground . " Dekh ke nahi chal sakte kya . Sara saman gira diya. Fone ka screen bhi crack ho gya mera ." She was shouting on the person . Kavya came there to help Amairaah . She literally had to drag her away from the scene . " Amairaah meri maa. Shant hoja . Kya ho gya hai tujhe . Itta gusse me toh maine bhi kabhi nahi dekha terko. Sab thik hai na." Kavya asked Amairaah . She told Amairaah to count to 10 to lower her anger . Amairaah said , " Mere sath sab thik hai yaar . Log daru pike ate hai aur takra jate hai . Bhagwan jane fone repair bhi hoga ya nahi. " Now something struck her mind . " Mera phone kharab ho gya . Oh ..My..God..Yes...Yes...Finally kuch toh thik hua aaj ke din ." Kavya was now convinced that Amairaah also needed a psychologist . " Are pagal tu samajh nahi rahi , Mera fone kharab .Matlab no outgoing and no incoming . And no incoming matlab no calls and msgs from inspector Daya . Naahi abhi woh dopahar me call krenge ki me kyu dr. Rahul ke pass nahi gyi aur naahi mera fone track krke mujhe dhundhte dhundhte kisi park me ayenge . Thank god !!" Kavya just asked if she was okay and Amairaah replied that she is and her day couldn't have gotten better. Amairaah wanted to ask some more questions but she was getting late so she took her leave .

The day was busy and kavya and Amairaah hardly had any time for lunch . Amairaah's head was paining . She thought may be it was due to exertion and will soon pass away . She didnt meet with Dr Rahul that day. She didn't want to . Jo hoga dekha jayga she thought. The day was over and both of them headed towards their car .Ehsaan and lakshya came there snd told the girls about some party . " Woooww , party !!! Chal na Amu chalte hai . Bohot din ho gye kahi gye nahi . " Amairaah wasn't in mood to attend any party . Her head was still aching as if some was hammering on it continiously ." Nahi yaar . Mujhe nahi jana kahi . Waise bhi jo log organisers hai iss party ke woh hume pta hai kaise log hai toh . The party is going to be filled with a bunch of alcoholics ,nothing more . Kuch maja wagre nahi ayega . " But kavya was so desperate , " Are logo ko drink krna hai toh krne de na . Apan thodi na krne wale . Chal na yaar Amu maja ayega." Amairaah tried to tell them that she already had Daya hovering over her due to her smoking habit . God knows how will he react if he finds out about this party . But Kavya was in no mood to listen. " Don't worry , I"ll talk to shreya di . Me unhe pata lungi . Abhi toh maanja plz ." Amairaah was still reluctant and she finally gave in .

They were home . Kavya very easily convinced shreya about the party . Of course Shreya thought that it was simple birthday party and then a night stay at kavya's roon on her hostel . Shreya quitely said , " Achcha hai meri aaj raat waise bhi duty hai . Amairaah bore hojati . Chalo me tumhe drop kar deti hu . Mujhe bhi wohi kaam hai goregaon east me . " Shreya dropped kavya and Amairaah at kavya's room so they could get ready there . And she left for her job. Apparently they were going to catch some smuggling racket tonight. Amairaah popped some pain killers for head . She never had such an headache . What was causing it she thought hoping the pain relievers would help .

( At the party )

The loud music was banging on every ones ears .There was dance floor and people were enjoying like it was the last night of their life . Of course all of them were drunk .The only four people that were sitting and getting bored were Amairaah , kavya , Ehsaan and lakshya . " I told you this party was not for us guys . But koi sunta kaha hai meri ." Amairaah said . The remaining three regretted their decision . There was fog everywhere produced by those machines . " Kaisi bakwas party hai ye . Kisiki shakal bhi thik se dekh nahi sakte . " Kavya said . Amairaah angrily looked her . " Tu toh rehne hi de kavya , tu hi sabse jyada nach rahi thi . Bada maja ayega . Ab maje kar liye honge toh let's go guys . Waise bhi mera sir abhi bhi dukhra and this loud music isn't helping ." All four of then left . Kavya and Amairaah in their car . And they were followed by Ehsaan and Lakshya . Since it was pretty late at night the boys would ensure the girls had reached kavya's hostel properly . Before driving Amairaah agained popped some of the tablets .

They were almost half the way when from a distance they saw some police checking . " Kis baat ki checking ho rahi yaar ? " Amairaah asked . She hoped this doesn't create problem in future for her . Then kavya's fone ranged . It was Ehsaan . " Suno, chup chap bina kuch bole chalna . Aur jo pucha uska jawab de dena..Daro mat kuch galat nahi Kiya Hai humne . Unki kuch routine drill hogi ." They both agreed and slowly moved forwards .

As they reached , One of the police knocked the window of Amairaah , " Kis baat ki checking ho rahi hai officers ? "Amairaah asked . The lady constable said that they were giving breathlyser test to every driver to see if any one is drinking and driving . Amairaah was thankful to God that none of them had actually tried alcohol at the party . But she had no idea what was waiting for her .

As soon as she was given the sensor to breath on it ,its alarm started ringing loudly . She had no idea what was happening . But the lady constable immediately called her senior . The senior looked like a mean guy . Amairaah was clueless about what was happening . Seeing this ruckus , Ehsaan and lakshya also stepped out of car . Ehsaan asked , " Any problem , sir ??" The police officer came near lakshya and told him , " Problem to hua hai bachche . Ye jo teri girlfriend hai na woh daru pike gadi chala rahi hai " Now this came as a shock to all of them . " Sir dekhiye aapko koi galat fehmi ho rahi hai. She is not drunk ." Amairaah said the same thing . " Aksar sab yahi bokte hai pakde jane ke baad .Kapde dekh ke toh lagta hai ki kisi party se aa rahe ho . Aur kya kya hai party me underage drinking ke sath . Drugs ?? Kamble ya muli la aat ghya re." He shouted . But lakshya said , " Ki sir drinking and driving ka jo bhi fine hora honga hum dene ko tayyar hai .Kitta hua sir ? " But Amairaah stopped him saying ki she is not drunk . Why should they pay the fine . But Ehsaan stopped her saying its better to get rid of these people . As they searching for their wallet the police officer came near Ehsaan and said , " Rishwat dega tu mereko , Rishwat dega...? Aeyy.. ye ladki ko lekejao re and ek team woh party ke venue pe bhejo . Dekho jara waha kya hora hai toh ."

" No ..no..no..she can't go with them . What if Shreya and Daya find out . " Amairaah thought . But luck was not really on her side these days . Within 15 mins she sitting on a bench in the police station near by hyperventilating . She was not getting any answers for why she had been tested positive for alchol . She didn't even have any soft drinks either at the party . The only thing she took was those pain killers . Of course those damn pain killers . They conatined some amount of Alchohol in them .Amairaah just cursed her fate . She came to the incharge of the station , " Sir dekhiye maine kuch pain killers li thi . They contained Alcohol , isiliye breathlyser pe mera alcohol positive . Please believe me sir ." But they were not ready to listen . Even her three friends tried hard to settle the matter but those officers didnt even budge . They were convinced to let the girl go only when any of Amairaah's gaurdian would come and sign some papers .

This meant only one option left . Kavya dialled Shreya's number . Amairaah hoped in mind that she had completed her work and was not with Daya . The call went unanswered .Kavya tried again but no answer. After about 6th time they gave up ,Thinking that Shreya was still busy in her work and will call back after some time . It was already 1:30 AM .Amairrah now was feeling nauseous along with her constant head aches . She thought may be it was of the different smell in the station . She ignored her symptoms again . She already had enough in her mind .

(At the crime scene )

The CID was not successful in catching the smugglers today . It seemed as if they already had got the message that the cops would come searching for them in this place . So they had emptied it in one night . They didn't even left a clue . The team decided to end the seige and search for new clues tomorrow .

Daya was going to drop Shreya home . " Lagta hai humare ane ki khabar unko pehle hi kisine de di sir . " Shreya said to daya . " Haa shreya filhaal to aise hi kuch lag raha hai . Koi baat nahi kab tak bhagenge . Kabhi na kabhi toh jarur pakde jayenge . " Daya said as he was driving the car . Once shreya switched on her cell phone . She was shocked to see so many miss calls of Kavya . " Kavya ke itne miss calls. Sab thik toh hai na ." Shreya dialled kavya's number but it was busy . Daya asked why was Kavya calling at this hour of night . Shreya told Daya that they were both having a night stay at Kavya's room . Kavya's fone was still busy . After two minutes of waiting , Shreya's fone flashed ' KAVYA CALLING ' . But alas as soon as she picked up the call her phone's battery died . Now kavya had no option . Without telling Amairaah , She dialled Daya's number . She knew that it wasn't probably right . But she had no other option than disturbing Daya at this hour of night . As kavya dialled Daya's no. , he picked it up in the second ring . Kavya told him the story that Amairaah had tested positive for alcohols even though she didn't consume it . And now the cops are not letting her go without any gaurdian . Daya was furious with what he had heard . In the morning only , Daya had lectured Amairaah about ger behavior . How could this girl be so out of controll . Daya turned the vehicle as swiftly as he could and told kavya that they were on their way

Here Amairaah's condition was getting worse. She also had started feeling dizzy . She hadn't told anyone .They already had enough to worry about as what will happen when two furious people will walk into this station.

Shreya and Daya were very furious . Daya had tried everything . He thought that being strict wasn't working with Amairaah so he very calmly addressed her issues . But instead of them resolving , This girl was creating a new big issue everyday . How to handle this girl now . How could he maintain his calm . He very angrily entered the police station . The constables at door saluted him . Shreya and Daya both entered inside . On seeing them kavya came running to Shreya . She started talking to shreya , but shreya angrily asked Amairaah , " Maine kuch pucha tumse ? Koi explanation manga ? Toh chup chap baithi raho fir .." The Inspector came and said , " Are senior inspector Daya aap yaha ?? " Daya replied that they were here for Amairaah Sharma . The inspector replied " Are agar woh aapke pehchan ke hoti toh me pakadta hi nahi unko . Unhone bhi kuch nahi kaha ." Daya replied , " Aisi baat nahi hai sir , galti ki hai toh saja milni hi chahiye. Papers de dijiye unko hum sign kar dete hai ." Amairaah was hurt by Daya's comment .

Daya and Shreya were signing the papers that they were given When Amairaah came towards daya .

" Daya sir please mera yakeen kijiye . Maine kisi drink ko hath nahi lagaya .Maine infact koi soft drink bhi nahi pi thi wahape. Woh pain killers ki wajahse woh test positive aya ." Amairaah said to daya . Daya didnt pay any attention . Niether did Shreya . This was making her cry . How could this make her cry ,she hadn't cried for 4 years .But here she was crying her heart out, but nobody was paying attention to the poor soul . Kavya couldn't see Amairaah's condition. Kavya came near shreya and said to her , " Please dii, humara vishwas kijiye . Humne kuch nahi kiya uss party me ." Even the two boys tried to convince her .But shreya said that " Agar kuch nahi krna tha party me toh jhooth bolke gaye hi kyu the ?? " Kavya cursed herself, she being the mastermind behind the plan .

" Amairaah ,chalo ab ." They had decided that shreya would take Amairaah's car .And she would safely drop the boys home .Ehsaan and lakshya were hesitant about that . They told shreya thay they didnt need her and will go home properly . But one look of Daya at both of them made them understood . Both the girls would be with Daya as kavya would be staying at Amairaah's house for tonight . As soon as Amairaah got up from the bench , She felt dizzy and was about to fall but catched by Daya. Shreya sprinkled some water over her face . " Abhi bhi tumko kehna hai ki isne drink nahi kiya hai krke. Chal bhi nahi paa rahi hai thikse." Daya asked the remaining three of them .

The ride home was silent . Daya didn't utter a word . Amairaah had never thought that Daya's ignorance would hurt her so much that she would cry for it . But here she was silently weeping .

Amairaah's head painfully throbbed and thinking about all the happenings wasn't helping either. She couldn't even bear the quiteness . She wanted Daya to speak something . She could give anything to kill the silence inside this car. After some time her nausea took a turn for worse . Daya stole one glance at her and he knew somthing was wrong . As he opened his mouth to ask about it , Amairaah said " Please gadi rokiye , I need to throw up ." Daya stopped as soon as it was possible for him and opening the door , Amairaah started throwing up . After she was done , Daya made her comfortably sit on the car's seat . He kept the door and the window open allowing some fresh air towards her . He wetted his handkerchief with some water and cleaned Amairaah's face. Amairaah's eyes were swollen due to crying . There were black marks on her cheeks probably because the tears had smudged her make up. Daya still hadn't uttered a word to her . After wiping her face he placed the bottle in front of her so that she could drink it . But Amairaah was lost somewhere else . Even after 2 mins when Amairaah didnt drink the water , Daya carefully bought the bottle towards her mouth and tilted her head by 45 degrees so that some water would go inside her system . Amairaah was touched by his concern . She started crying hopelessly .No body in 4 years had ever behaved with her like this . Of course she was the only one to push people away but Daya was the only one who always came back for her no matter how hard she tried to keep him away. Amairaah cried out of shame , She cried because she thought she didnt deserve this comfort. Daya was instantly by her side whispering soothing voices in her ears . He rubbed Amairaah's back in smooth circles just like her father would do to her.

" I..I..am sorry " Amairaah blurted out .She tried to move away from his grip after saying that , But Daya tightened his arms around her even more . And this was it for her. She nearly collapsed in his shoulders crying . Crying is for kids she knew that . But in this moment she didn't care how kiddish it looked cause she was tired both physically and emotionally . And she needed someone . Someone like the person who was standing besides her .

Thankfully kavya was not awake for this theatrics Daya thought . He was still holding Amairaah tightly . He then sensed that her crying had resolved . " Okay ?" He asked her. Amairaah nodded . Daya closed the door of Amairaah's seat and proceeded towards his seat .

They drove off towards the house , Amairaah being half asleep .

As they reached the house , Daya saw shreya waiting outside resting her back on the car and head on the car's roof . As soon as she heard the noise of car , She came towards them . She opened the door on kavya' s side and tapped her gently. Kavya was half awake . She knew what she had to do. Fumbling around she made her way to Amairaah's room and locked the door . Daya opened Amairaah's door . " Amairaah , Ghar aagya ..." Amairaah spoke some words which couldn't be understood by anyone and thats when Daya put one of his arm under her legs and the other behind her back . He scooped her properly and made way to the house . He pulled a pillow of the couch down and carefully placed Amairaah's head on it . Shreya came back with a blanket and covered Amairaah in one .

Shreya sat on the opposite couch with her face in her palms . She was worried .

Daya signelled her to come to dining table . " Kya karu me Daya iss ladki ka ? Uska bartav din badin galat raste pe jaa raha. " Shreya said as she sat on the dining table . Daya kept some black coffee in front of her. It was almost 4 in the morning and today they had a call time of 6 in the morning. Sleep was out of the question for them now . So very thoughtfully Daya had prepared black coffee for both of them . " Sshh , Shanti se pilo pehle . " Daya was himself unsure of how to exactly handle things now . Was it the time that he should tell Shreya about Amairaah's smoking habit he thought . But he reached a conclusion of not telling Shreya anything now . He would like to hear from Amairaah when she is completely sober . Of course she had tried talking to him but he wasn't even in mood today . Further more her dizziness , headaches and nausea supported the fact that she was drunk. But what was the need to go into the stupid party if the intention was not to get drunk . Was it really party of their college or some other party where all the wrong deeds happen . And if it was such a party , how lucky it was that Amairaah was back in safe hands . The night was full of questions without any answers . Due to tiredness , Daya had rested his head on the tables on his arms itself . He was thinking so hard that he didn't realise it was their time to leave again untill shreya tapped his shoulder from behind . " Daya jane ka waqt ho raha hai . Maine washroom me towel wagre rakhwaa diye hai . Jaiyye fresh ho jaiye ekbar . " Daya left to freshen up while Radhabai and Amairaah prepared some coffee and breakfast .

Daya and Shreya had there breakfast . It was time for them to leave . Shreya had a peep inside the room where Kavya was was sleeping . She still wasn't awake . Shreya proceeded downwards . Amairaah was also fast asleep . Shreya went into to kitchen to tell radhabai that they were leaving . She instructed her that once the girls are awake give them some lemon soda without forgetting.

Daya was came down . He saw Shreya in the kitchen . He went towards the couch where Amairaah was sleeping .Daya went near her and arranged her blankets properly. He suddenly remembered the night's moment how Amairaah had hopelessly broken down into his arms . Daya didn't quite understand what was the reason for her crying . But she had cried a lot . Daya caressed her forehead and thanked God that the kids were in safe hands .

" Oo my little girl , We have so much to talk about when I return . " Daya said softly to Amairaah. Then having one last look at her , He and shreya left .


	10. Chapter 10

@SakshiB and @Hehee I hope you both have the same confusion . The last chapter read -

After they were done with the teasing , Amairaah said to shreya , " On a serious note shreya , Daya bohot achche hai . Dont worry . " Shreya smiled at that . "Bas ek problem hai ki unhe mere smoking ke barime pta hai " she said very lightly .

Shreya couldnt clearly catch that so she asked " kuch boli kya tu ? " Amairaah said no and they both went to sleep .

So yeah Amairaah had said that Daya knows about her smoking habit . But she said it so lightly that shreya couldn't hear . Shreya asked her " What did you say ? " And Amairaah replied , " Nothing "

I hope this clears your confusion .

@Aditi : Sorry again :-P . Abhi pakkese dhyaan rahega.

Thank you JS Abhi for your words .

Thanks to guestii , noname, and other guests about your reviews . :-))

@Laksara-Of course you didn't bore me with your review :-)) Thanks for the kind words and I hope I always present the story upto the standards you hope . Your message made me happy . Thanks for the support .

 **Chapter 10**

It was around 10 in the morning . Amairaah was sitting in a chair looking at Kavya . Her feet were dangling over the tile flooring . The whole night had passed but they both couldn't register what exactly had happened . Kavya broke the silence , " I wish things could have turned out differently . But each and everything was coming as a shock to us . We couldn't do a damn thing . I am sorry yaar . Maine socha bhi nahi tha kuch aisa ho sakta hai krke."

"I know you are sorry . And I know its genuine. It just that bad luck seems to find me more often now-a-days . Or may be I go searching for bad luck . " Saying this Amairaah got up from the chair . She needed to get a good shower . She opened the door to her washroom and started the water . She rested herself along the walls of the shower area . Amairaah let the water flow through her hair . Her whole body ached . She was still feeling dizzy , not like yesterday but still it was quite enough to take a note . She hadn't eaten anything at night . So now she was hungry and nauseous at the same time .

Both Amairaah and Kavya had skipped college today .They were in no mood . Ehsaaan and lakshya had called them and told that they would be there in the afternoon to meet them . Both the girls had been waiting for around 15 mins on the dining table for breakfast. " DATTU...nashta kaha hai ? " Amairaah shouted angrily . Dattu came running with two glasses of some semi tranperant liquid and said , " Sorry didi woh radhabai bajaar gyi toh waqt lag gya." She asked dattu , " Ye kya hai, nashta kaha hai ?" Dattu told them that Shreya had instructed radhabai to give lemonade to both of you without fail . Amairaah put her face in her palms . Stunned , Shocked , Disappointed , Upset, angry , frustating and now hungry , she thought . Her anger was boiling by the second now . Subconsciously her hand was up and she pushed the away glass so angrily that the glass fell from the table and broke into pieces . She was done , done taking the accusations for what she had not done. " AMAIRAAH !" Kavya shouted. " Gussa pe kabu rakhiyo . Thik hai jo bhi hai galat ho raha hai . Par adhe se jyada time toh tera gussa hi leke dubta hai tujhe ." Amairaah brushed her hair aside from her face using both the hands . She knew Kavya was right . And why to take anger out on Dattu she thought . " I am sorry." Amairaah whispered and she started to pick the broken pieces . "Dattu told her that he will pick them up . But Amairaah said , " No its fine , Toda maine hai utha lungi me. Tum nashta banao ." Amairaah stopped Dattu and asked if he knows where Shreya di was today ? Dattu told her that when she had called about one hour ago she was in some K.B. nagar

(In the bereau )

The goons had escaped second time . ACP sir was in a very bad mood . In fact every officer was . Looked like the day was going bad for literally every one

" Kaise ..Kaise pta chal jata hai un logoko ki hum ane wale hai krke .Kaise ?? " ACP sir said out of frustration . Abhijeet suddenly had something in his mind . " Sir, kuch do saal pehle bhi ek case me aisa hi hora tha. Humare pohochne se pehle hi apradhi farar rehta tha . Tab yaad hai sir kya hua tha . Bureau ke phones tap ho rahe the . Kahi iss bar bhi toh kuch aisa nahi ??" ACP sir was impressed by this thinking. " Ho sakta hai abhijeet . Bilkul Ho sakta hai . Bureau ke sare fones check karo aur yahi nahi apne apne priavte numbers bhi check karao . " ACP sir ordered. They all started the checking but after 2 - 3 hours everybody's hope was shattered as no such device was found . Now they had nothing to go on , No leads no clues. " Iska matlab ek hi meaning hota hai boss." Dr. Salunkhe said to ACP pradyuman . " Kya ?" ACP asked . " Jo bhi in sab ke piche hai usne ek voice recorded ya sound sensor chod ke rakha hai. Woh dhundhne ki koshish karo . Salunkhe replied . " Yeh sound sensor kaisa device rehta hai Dr. Salunkhe ??" Insp. Rajat asked . " Yahi manlo ki sound waves detect krta hai aur unhe jaha isnan baith ke sunna chahta hai waha transfer krta hai. Haa ek chiz aur bata sakta hu , Inki range lagbhag adhe Km tak rehti hai. " Dr. Salunkhe told them. " Kya ?? Matlab adhe Km dur tak awaje record ho sakti hai ?? " Freddy asked surprisingly . " Nahi yaar Freddy , Ye kaise possible hai . Range adhe km ki hai matlab jo insan humare bate baith ke sunra hai woh sensor ke adhe km k andar hi kahi maujoot hai . Usse jyada dur nahi . Aur haa ye recorder ya sensor abhi bureau ya forensic lab me nahi hai iski garuntee me le sakta hu." Salunkhe replied . " Ye itta confidently kaise kya bol sakta hai tu salunkhe ? Agar usse aisa koi device rakhna hi tha toh bureau hi toh sabse pehle dimag me ayega kisike ." ACP asked him . " Boss ye jo sensor hai ye constantly ultrasonic waves emit krta rehta. Waise jyada hanikarak nahi hoti hai ye waves . Par kuch particular frequence ke upar agar koi insan continiously inke contact me rahe toh terrible headache rehte hai use . Aur humare yaha toh aisa koi dikh nahi raha ." ACP had a look at all of them. Yes all of his officers were fine . That means only one thing he thought . "Ye sensor bereau me nahi kisike ghar par hai . kisike ghar par Hai ye sensors." Abhijeet said , " Sir , Jo dono sites pe hum gye the unhe pakadne wahase shreya aur mera ghar lagbhag adhe km ke andar hi ata hai . Hume wohi se dhundhna shuru karna chahiye." The ACP agreed to this and he sent his members to search for the houses .

Daya, Shreya ,Abhijeet and purvi first went to Abhijeet's house .

All four of them were seaching for the device like crazy . Moving furniture , Tilting piloows and cushions , Emptying the wardrobe.

Shreya was searching some drawers when suddenly something struck her mind ," Amairaah" Why didn't this thing crossed her mind she thought . " Kya hua Shreya ? " Abhijeet asked . " Sir kal sham se Amairaah kuch aisehi symptoms dikha rahi hai . " Shreya said. Daya came there too . " Haa boss , Kal bohot chakkar aa rahe the use. " Abhijeet angrily said , " Ye baat tumhe abhi dhyaan me aa rahi hai . Kaha dhyaan tha tumhara jab salunkhe saab itta chilla chilla kar bolre the sir me jabardast dard rahega , chakkar ayenge . Acp saab ko inform karo ki hum waha jaa rahe hai pehle ." Purvi left to inform ACP sir. Shreya tried calling Amairaah but her phone was switched off . She then called kavya .

( Shreya's house )

Amairaah and kavya just had their lunch with Ehsaan and lakshya . They had a light time . BAmairaah wasn't able to keep down the lunch also . Seeing this Kavya went to nearby pharmacy and bought some tablets hoping that they will calm her nausea down .

" What bug did you catch ?? Seriously kuch bhi nahi kha paa rahi hai tu." Kavya asked her as Amairaah took the tablet . " Dhoop lag gyi hogi . Chod ho jayenga thik 2 dino me. Chal sote hai. Ghar pe rehne ka kuch toh fayda ho." Kavya asked Amairaah to go ahead and said that she will join her in few minutes . Amairaah went ahead and tried to sleep. Kavya was completing her assignments on her laptop . She had checked Amairaah once and found her sleeping peacefully .She again returned back to her work . After about 15 mins of working she received a call from Shreya telling her not to touch any stuff of Amairaah . This got Kavya confused . Things were getting more complicated by the minute . The bell rang and four people were here. " Amu kaha hai ? " Shreya asked . " Woh apne room me so rahi hai." Kavya replied . " Sir dard wagre ho raha tha kya uska kuch . " Abhijeet asked . Kavya told him yes and how she had taken 2-3 pain killers in a day to keep the pain down . " Purvi tum pehle Dr Salunkhe ko fone krke pucho ki koi treatment wagre lena jaruri hai kya ? Hum tab tk room check krte hai. " Daya said .

They opened the door and started seaching for the device . Shreya asked Kavya to wake her up . They would need to search the bed also . Kavya obliged and started to wake Amairaah. As soon as Amairaah opened the eyes she was shocked seeing the ruckus in her room . Everything was being moved from its original place ,The vase had no flowers in it . Every cushion was being turned and the books were out of the shelves . " Ye kya ho raha hai ?" Amairaah asked . " Amu tu niche jaa kavya ke sath . Hum baadme sab btate hai tujhe . " Shreya said . Well thats not a problem unless they put all the things back together Amairaah thought . And she wasn't even interested in what was happening . Her nausea had gone but her head was still being crushed under a hammer. She got up and was about to take her first step when BAM !! Another wave of dizziness hit her ."Shit" Kavya shouted as she helped Amairaah.When everybody heard the sound they looked at what was happening . Daya offered her a hand and she rejected this time . Daya felt hurt . He remembered yesterday's events when she was crying her heart out and telling them she hadn't done anything wrong before she fell unconscious . Regret was written all over his and Shreya's face . Amairaah had also told them about the pain killers but they didn't listen . Abhijeet saw Daya's face and knew something was wrong . He made a mental note to ask him later .

Daya said something to Shreya through eye contact and they continued the search . Abhijeet started emptying Amairaah's bag . Her sthethoscope , some notebooks, pens, wallet these were the only thing that were found. Abhijeet was becoming frustrated by the minute . When he placed the wallet on the table he heard a very small sound of something falling on the floor. He searched and his hands touched something unusual . The device was found . "Daya" he said and he carefully watched the device . Daya immidiately called ACP sir and told him that they found the device . Purvi came inside and said " Sir , Salunkhe sir bol rahe the ki aise koi specific treatment ki jarurat nahi hai . Woh radiation se jaise admi ka contact kam hoga symptoms apne aap Kam honge .Bas ek bar blood test karwane k liye kaha hai . Bol rahe the kabhi kabar blood cells ka count kam hojata hai radiation ki wajahse " Shreya heaved a sigh of relied after listening to Purvi . "Waise, Shreya...Amairaah ka itna sir dard de raha tha. Ek baar bhi pucha nahi tumne. " Now what to answer Shreya thought as she looked at Daya. " Me tumhe sham ko sab btata hu boss. Purvi tum jao Amairaah ka blood forensic lab me bhjiwane ka intezaam karo. "

ACP pradyuman then deployed Rajat and Sachin to find whatever info they can get on the sensor and get that thing to be deactivated immidiately and he himself proceded to Shreya's house .

Daya , Abhijeet and Shreya were coming down from Amairaah's room . Dr sakunkhe had already sent some assitant to pick Amairaah' s blood sample .

Amairaah was sitting silently at the dining table . She gave her hand to the assistant so that she could take the sample . The assistant rubbed her hand with some spirit . "Shreya di , This spirit contains alcohol but dont worry I wont drink it." Amairaah said mockingly .Kavya laughed at Amairaah' s dialogue.

The assisstant pricked needle in Amairaah's hand but it didn't enter her vein . The second prick was also nowhere near the vein. After the third prick failed , Kavya took the syringe from the nurse's hand saying " Ok lady , who gave you this job ?" Kavya took the blood sample of Amairaah very easily forwarded it to Purvi .

ACP sir entered the house . Everybody who had a relaxed posture suddenly became very became conscious .

" Abhijeet kaha tak pohocha investigation ?" ACP sir asked . Abhiheet told him that the sensor was found inside Amairaah's wallet and he had sent it to Forensic lab for investigation . " Waise ye tumhare wallet me aya kaise Amairaah ?"

ACP sir asked Amairaah . " Pta nahi sir mera toh wallet humesha mere sath hi rehta hai. Kab koi daalke gya pata bhi nahi chala ." They further asked if anybody had come to meet her who was being too friendly with her out of a sudden. But nothing strange had actually happened that day except that Amairaah had crashed with some stupid patient . Then it came to her notice and she immidiately said , " Sir , uss din ek admi ake jorse takraya tha . Dono ka saman gir gya tha aur ho sakta hai uthate waqt usne kuch kiya ho." " Kaun tha woh admi ?" ACP sir asked ? " Pta nahi sir hume laga koi patient honga hospital ka . Par sir wahake cctv me footage mil jayga. " Kavya replied . Everybody left for the college to see the cctv footage. They were satisfied . At least they had some thing now to go on with investigation .

It was evening and kavya took Amairaah's leave . She had started feeling better now though not fully but she had at least eaten something and hadn't thrown it up .

Amairaah was in her room. She was still tired. But she was satisfied that her innocence was proven right . She never realised when sleep overtook her .

It was around 8:30 PM when Daya and Shreya had returned home . Daya was going to have dinner at their place only. Radhabai offered them water. " Amairaah kya kar rahi hai Radhabai ?" Shreya asked . " Woh to so gyi beta kabki. Ekto din bhar bichari kuch kha pi bhi nahi paa rahi thi. Upar se chakkar. Woh kavya ne kuch goli lakar di thi dopahar ko aap ane se pehle woh li toh sham thodasa kha payi. " They both knew somewhere they were also guilty for this situation. Daya had told eveything about last night to Abhijeet. Abhijeet had told him it will be fine . Amairaah will come around in two- three days. " Daya , dinner ke liye uthake dekhu amu ko ? bohot kam khaya hai na usne ." Shreya asked Daya. " Haa bilkul . Thoda achcha bhi lagega usse khana khaygi toh. Tum uthado me fresh hoke ata hu."

Radhabai was serving food to Daya and Shreya. Amairaah was coming down in some time . She didnt want to wake up but shreya was determined to put some food in her tummy. Amairaah carefully walked the stairs . She wasn't feeling dizzy anymore but she was still scared .She took a seat at dining table and took very little food in her plate and started eating.

Daya and shreya were mentally prepared for whatever anger Amu was ready throw at them . Shreya said , " Amu sorry , Galti ho gyi humse. " But here was the shock.

Amairaah didn't even lift her head saying " It's fine "

They both looked at her with a touch of defiance , as if still waiting for her angry answer. But her answer was worse than anger . It looked like the false conviction and accusations didn't matter to her anymore . Whole dinner Amairaah didn't even make a noise.

" Ice cream khane chale ?" Daya asked to lighten up the mood . " Ice cream khane iss waqt ? kuch bhi kya daya ." Shreya asked . But Daya said , " Are chalo , achcha lagega sab ke dimag yaha bohot bhari ho gye hai ." " Aap dono kha ke aaiye , mujhe sone jana hai. " Amairaah said . "Are behna , trust me maja ayega." Daya said making an assuring eye contact . They all were getting ready when Shreya's phone rang. ACP sir calling at this time ,Whats the matter ? Shreya thought .She picked up the call but was relieved that it was nothing serious and he just wanted to discuss some files with her . Par Hogaya plan ka popat ,She thought . Daya was laughing ," Inspector Shreya , Tumhara plan cancel ho raha hai. Humara nahi. Chalo Amairaah." Amairaah was still hoping that Shreya would come . But daya jokingly said , " Are chalo jaldise, Waise bhi din bhar toh rehta hu tumhare behen k sath. Kabhi toh picha chode mera . " Shreya picked up a cushion of sofa and threw it at Daya . But alas she had no option but attending the call . So Daya and Amairaah left .

" Kya baat hai aaj gussa nahi ho humpe ? Maine toh bohot ulte seedhe jawab expect kiya the. 2-3 din naraj hoke baithogi . Manana padega aisa lagra tha . Par aaj to gazab hi ho gya ?" Daya asked Amairaah while driving .

" Sometimes even I surprise myself ." Amairaah replied. " Waise Daya sir , woh admi ke barime kuch pata chala kaun hai ?" Amairaah asked . " Nahi abhi toh nahi , sare police station me uska photo bhej diya hai . Lets see kya samne ata hai toh ." They reached somehwere but it was definitely not an ice cream shop . "Ye Hum kaha aye hai ?" Amairaah asked ." Ye Rahul ka private clinic hai ." Daya replied as he locked his car. "Daya sir maine kaha tha na mujhe nahi jana hai . Aap aisa kyu krte hai. Aap wapas chaliye yahase." Amairaah said pulling Daya's hand . " Chaliye daya sir yahase .Please mujhe nahi jana ." Amairaah was trying to convince him like a child. Daya pinched the bridge of his nose and in a very serious tone said, " Bachpana ho gya honga to chale. " Amairaah still nodded negatively looking down. Daya sighed . He held her by the hand and took her into the reception area. There were a bunch of sick people around. Daya asked the receptionist to tell Rahul that he is here . The receptionist went inside and came back after 5 mins . He told Daya that he can go inside once the patient comes out . " Amairaah wahape koi badtameezi nahi . Okay ? " He warned Amairaah. They both entered the chamber . Daya introduced Amairaah as Shreya's sister . He explained the whole situation to Rahul .Rahul asked Amairaah to get inside for a proper examination . The examination was done and Rahul came back and sat on his chair . " Waise sab normal hai Daya . Haa thoda blood pressure low hai because she said she has been constantly throwing up today. Toh uske liye ORS pite rehna hoga usse . 2 days of rest and she will recover completely. Rahi baat pair ke jakham ki , sister tayari kar rahi hai me firse dressing kar deta hu ." Rahul said to Daya . " Baat actually ye hai Rahul , ye sab sensor ka wagre natak hone se pehle bhi Amairaah ko ekbaar chakkar aaya tha. " Rahul pacified daya it might be due to general weakness and he will prescribe her some multivitamins and tonics .

The dressing was done and both of them took leave . They reached the parking and Daya asked , " Ab chale ice cream khane ?" Amairaah angrily looked at him " Can I make a correction in my attitude and show my anger now . Mujhe nahi jana kahi ice cream khane . Ghar chod dijiye bas." " Bhai car to ice cream khane jaa rahi hai . Haa agar tumhe paidal jana hai toh me bilkul mana nahi karunga ." Daya said sitting inside the driver's seat . Amairaah was still watching from outside . She knocked Daya's window . When Daya opened it , " Aap bohot hi bure aur ziddi insan hai sir ." came a reply . Daya laughed at that . Amairaah took a seat and Daya started the car saying , " Bhai bure ka toh pata nahi ,par apke sath rehne ke liye ziddi banna pada . Aapko takkar jo deni rehti hai. " They both laughed at this . Daya told her that Shreya was going to bring her to doctor tommorow anyways but he saw that her mood was good today and so he took the opportunity . They both reached the ice cream parlour and ordered their Ice creams. Thsy were eating quitely , when Daya said" Waise apne btaya nahi Amairaah ji aapko kis baat darr lag raha hai itna ? " Amairaah was shocked to hear this. He knew her very well she thought . But she didn't want to tell anybody about that . " Darr, mujhe kis baat dar hai ?" Amairaah replied without looking up . This confirmed Daya's doubt . He said , " Darr toh hai kisi baat ka . Aur kuch jyada hi darr lag raha hai . Jo gussa dikhake tum apna darr chupati ho , Aaj wohi darr ki wajahse se apne gussa chupa rahi ho ? " Amairaah stopped eating ice cream for a moment . " Me woh tissues leke ati hu." Amairaah left to avoid conversation . When she returned even Daya didn't continue the topic . It was already a roller coaster ride for her today. The night should at least be peaceful he thought . They ate ice cream in silence and left.

The car stopped and they reached home . "Amairaah...ghar agya ." Daya said ."Daya sir, woh mujhe..." Amairaah said ."Kya hua Amairaah ? Chalo btao ." Daya again asked her calmy . " Daya sir , woh gunde mujh tak pohoch gya . Agar maa baba jaisa kuch firse shreya di ke sath hua toh ?" Amairaah asked .The fear was very clearly seen in her eyes. " Amairaah beta, meri baat suno . Jo ho gya woh ho gya . Aur jab kisi insan ke sath bura Hona hota hai na woh kaise bhi ho hi jata hai . Chahe tum kitna bhi khud ko protect karo . Hume andaja bhi nahi rehta par bura hojata hai . Aur hum us chiz ko kitni bhi thik karne ki koshish kare na woh nahi hoti . Par in sab buri chizo me hum ek chiz bhul jate hai , jab achchi chize hoti hai woh bhi aisehi hoti hai . Bina bataye suddenly . Toh unn chizo pe concentrate karo . Haa abhi Shreya CID me hai .Jaan par khatra toh bana rahega. Par hum sab hai na sath me . Me hoon uske sath , Tum chinta mat karo . Jake achchi chizo ke barime socho ." Daya said . He kept his large palm on her head, moved it slightly, "Samjhi ??" Amairaah nodded with a smile . "Jao , ab apni behen ko ye ice cream de dena yaadse nahi toh kal toh meri khair nahi aur aram se bina kuch soche so jao thik hai ! Me nikalta hu . Its getting late." Amairaah smiled lightly and entered the house . Daya left after he saw Amairaah entering inside the house .

Amairaah entered the house. She saw Shreya was still on call with ACP sir . She went into the kitchen and after sometime kept the ice cream bowl in front of Shreya .

Shreya mouthed her thank you . Amairaah left for her room . As soon as she changed into her night clothes , Sleep surrounded her mind .


	11. Chapter 11

Thank you saakshi , aditi , laksara , mo304 , anonymous and ssshhh for your reviews .

Chapter **11**

 _ **She was again in the same place where she had been 2 nights in a row . The place held an repelling aura .She felt the need to run away as soon as she can and as fast as she can. The place was unknown but it seemed familiar . The silence was devastating . Where is everybody she thought. She tried to find door , windows anything . But she was trapped .She stumbled here and there . Her legs touched something . She lowered herself down to see what it was . It was Shreya in the same position as her mother . She couldn't believe her eyes. It was all happening again. She sat in the corner and sobbed uncontrollably untill "Amairaah !" . She knows this voice . Its the voice of her father. But wait he is dead . She followed the voice when she stumbled upon something . She kneelt down to see what it was. It was the source of her sound. " Amairaah" He called again . Amairaah fearfully moved closer again .**_ _ **. This was Daya . He was bleeding profusely .No no no she couldn't let him die . She turned her head to the sound of another person laughing . Even after four years she had never forgotten this laugh. This was the same man who killed her father . And now her was pointing a gun a Daya. " PLEASE STOP . Please I beg you please stop ." She cried in that person's leg . But it was like she wasn't visible to them anymore . She screamed , she cried but all she could just do was stand and watch her loved ones die again. Amairaah stiod frozen when the man started to press the**_ _**trigger . Amairaah stood frozen when he shot the bullet .She scremed in pain and rage at the site . She watched Daya and Shreya undergoing the same fate as her mom and dad . The man turned towards her , " I told you , I will come back for the remaning of your family . You are destined to watch this . To watch each and everyone you know die mercilessly in front of your eyes . And you know what , I won't kill you . You live to see your dead ones . " Amairaah sobbed horribly . She went near Daya and Shreya's body and cried , " I am sorry . I**_ _**am sorry . " She covered her ears and continued to sob**_ untill something woke her up abruptly .

She boltingly went into the bathroom to wash her teary face . The nightmares had started making a daily appearance . Amairaah looked at herself in the mirror . Her eyes were red and they had tiredness filled inside them . There were mark of tears on her cheek . Amairaah wondered if she had been screaming loudly during the whole nightmare showdown . She had screamed the first time . Enough to wake Shreya from her sleep . With baby steps she came near Shreya's room and listened with an intention to see if she was awake . But there was no sound . Looks like she was sleeping contently. Amairaah went back to her room and checked the timing . It was 3:30 in the morning . Sleep wasn't going to pay her a visit now she knew . And it was quite late to dose on a sleeping pill . She lied on the bed and tightly wrapped her blanket around herself. Was she scared this much on the insides that her fears had started manifesting as nightmares . Fear of exactly what . The chances of that incidence repeating were nearly zero. Then why she was so scared . Probably she was scared because Shreya had been selected for a mission. Amairaah was constantly thinking when suddenly the man who she had crashed with her in the hospital came to her mind . Who was that man she thought . He was still not found . It was like after that day he had vanished into thin air. No traces of him anywhere . " Shut up! and try to sleep." Amairaah said to herself . But there was this little voice inside her with which she couldn't help but agree. Something was left out . Something's missing . Frustatingly she got up from her bed and searched the drawers for her headfones . She put them in her ears and blasted the music at full volume . Apparently any noise besides the one in her head was good to her now .

Morning came very quickly. Today No Daya for breakfast Amairaah thought. Daya had became quite regular at their household now . Shreya and Daya's love story was blossoming very beautifully . Radhabai had even asked them about marriage. But Daya very playfully replied , " Agar rukne ki naubat ayi na toh me zindagi bhar rukne ko tayar hu aur agar karne ki naubat ayi ko ek din rukna bhi bohit jyada ho jayga mere liye." Shreya asked Amairaah , " Kya soch rahi hai itna ?" Amairaah replied , " Nahi kuch bhi toh nahi . Waise aap mission ke liye kab nikal rahe ho ? " Shreya said that she still had three weeks left . Amairaahi finished her breakfast and left for the college .

College was lazy day today. Actually it was for Amairaah. She was feeling sleepy in the very between. Thanks to her nightmares . She was thinking about the evening dinner that was supposed to held at their place . It was in the honor of Abhijeet and Tarika as Abhiheet had fibally proposed her. Shreya had already warned her to be home on time . But she didn't want to be there . She was happy for Tarika but family celebrations ,They weren't her things . These people asked questions . Where were you ? Why are you late ? What were you doing . These questions angered Amairaah . Anger leads to hate . Hate causes suffering . Suffering causes depression and depression causes physical ailments . Conclusion made - People are dangerous . Keep them away . And she already had one headstrong cop constantly keeping an eye on her. Whenever Amairaah thought about Daya , she felt nice for a few seconds about how he cares for her . But then after that the hate games begins . She missed her freedom. She missed that time when she didn't have to think what she was doing . And most importantly she hated how that man used to bring out the dustiest corners of her mixed up soul . Yes she had cried in front of him . She had shared her fears . But Amairaah thought that it was making her vulnerable emotionally . She was not vulnerable and she had decided that she wouldn't be one . But then this man comes along and tries to destry the walls that you have created . That kind of vulnerability , That kind of honesty - Her body didn't have any energy to handle that. Well that was the last time Inspector Daya you saw me weak . I am not going to fall again for your attitude . Decision made - " Going very late to the dinner at home."

" Are you done hating people . If yes I an hungry . I wanna have lunch ." Kavya said coming from behind . " How can you so surely say That I was hateing people ?"

Amairaah asked in surprise ." Come on , its your typical "I hate everybody" face . Waise who are hating this time . Who's topping the list ? " Amairaah smirked ." Hating people is taking too much of my energy .From now on I am just going to pretend that they don't exist ." Kavya laughed at that . Her friend sure had a sense of humor ." Hey btw I'm coming to your room after college. " Amairaah said to kavya . Kavya asked her , " But you need to go home early, right ? There's going to be a bunch of people at your home ." Amairaah replied ," That's why I dont wanna be there so early ."

( In a coffee shop )

Abhijeet and Daya walked into a coffee shop . " Party to tum de rahe ho na boss ??" Daya teasingly asked . " Sharam ani chahiye Daya tumhe . Waha tarika ji ke dosto ko dekho , tarika ke liye dinner de rahi hai..aur yaha tum !! " Abhijeet said to Daya . " Me toh humesha party lene ke side se rahunga boss chahe kuch bhi ho jaye ." Daya said. They both laughed at that . " Waise daya , tune kya socha hai ?" Abhijeet asked Daya . " Haa boss , starter me hara bhara kebab , main course me ek panner and ek vegetable kofta mangate hai aur fir last me Dal tadka and rice . Haa aur desserts me ruko me check karta hu.." Abhijeet snatched the menu card from Daya and asked , " O' mere bhai . Tumhe achchi tarike se pata hai me kya bol raha hu. Me lunch ke barime me nahi tere aur shreya ke barime puch raha hu. Topic change mat kar tu." Daya smiled . He also knew somewhere that Abhijeet would be asking him this question today. " Boss tumse kya chupana ab. Abhi tak socha nahi uske barime . Matlab mujhe exactly nahi pata ki shadi ka topic nikalne ke baad shreya kaise react karegi . Uska abhi abhi naya job hai and upar se her past . Aur fir Amairaah ki responsibility bhi toh hai uspe. " Abhijeet laughed at this , " Kya yaar Daya , ye nayi job hai aisa hai waise hai..in sabko leke kya sochna itna . Aur rahi baat Amairaah ki . Toh shadi ke baat tog woh tumhari responsibility bhi toh hui na . Tum kaha akho se dur jane doge usko . " Daya replied , " Yahi toh problem hai boss. Aur yahi baat batana chahta hu me tumhe . Aisa lagta hai ji abhi tak Amairaah sambhki nahi hai uske sath jo bhi hua uske baad . Jab hum pehli baar mile the yaad hai.. woh kaise takra gyi thi mujhe ..." Abhijeet interupted and said , " Woh tumhari pehli mulaqaat nahi thi . Aur tum dono ki shakal dekh ke tih aise lagra tha ki pehli mulaqaat jo bhi thi kuch khas nahi thi." Daya was shocked . " Tumhe kaise pata ye ?" Abhijeet replied , " Tum dono ko akhe bohit dekhne layak thi. Aur waise bhi me jis Daya ko janta hu , Use toh khud sr. inpc daya bhi nahi pehchanta hoga . Woh toh bas maine mood light kiya tha taki tum dono ko aone misunderstanging clear krne ke liye thoda space mile . " That was reason Daya always trusted this guy with his life . He knew about Daya more than anyone . "Waise kya hua tha ?" Abhijeet asked . Daya told him everything . How he and sachin had spotted her smoking and how he had requested sachin to be quite about it . Why it was not difficult for him that night to accept the possibility that Amairaah can also be drunk . And how suddenly out of nowhere she had started crying that night . Abhiheet said to Daya , " Ye toh achchi baat hai na Daya , Tere sath bate share karne lagi hai woh . She has started confining in you . Toh problem kis baat ka hai ?" Daya replied " Boss the problem is uska mind bohot unstable hai. Matlab ek hafte pehle mujhe apne darr bata rahi thi . Aur aaj jab milenge na tab dekhna baat bhi nahi krengi. Aur fir aisehi me lagta hai ki Shreya ki first priority Amairaah hi honi chahiye . She needs to get herself stable . Uske mood swings nahi hote - uske moods; they bounce , rebounce , oscillate fluctuate aur kya kya bhagwan jane . " They both laughed at that . " Ha yar notice tih maine bhi kiya hai . Logose baat nahi krengi. Jaise baat karna hi gunha ho and baat krengi toh baras pdengi unpe. Par in sabka solution Tum dono ka wait karna nahi hai. Tum dono jaldi se jaldi age badho and give her a stable family structure . " Abhijeet said . They kept talking about that.

Yes actually it was completely true . Amairaah needed some male dominance in her life . She needed a fatherly figure . Somebody who would make her account for all her mistakes , improper behaviour and rebelliousness . Somebody who would take the responsibility to correct them. And most importantly somebody who would accept her as she is with her rebellion.

( In Kavya's room )

Amairaah and kavya went to kavya's room as the college ended . Amairaah was very well aware of the fact about how her sister would react if she comes to know about her purposely coming home late. She knew better But here was she anyway. She plopped on a bean bag and heaved a sigh of relief. Her fone vibrated . Amairaah thought it might be Shreya so she didn't bother to answer it . But even after 10-15 mins , the vibrations didn't seemed to stop . " Who the hell is calling now ? " Amairaah said as she took out her fone from denim pockets . It was an unknown number . She picked it up but no body was speaking from the other side . She tried and then gave up . " Freaking idiots .Agar baat nahi karni rehti to call hi kyu krte hai ." Amairaah said angrily as she took out a cigarette . God she missed those . She light it up and inhaled peacefully . All her problems seemed to blow away. " Music laga" She said to Kavya . Kavya was in the right mind today. " Dekh ek cigar pi aur chup chap tere ghar jaa. Waise bhi un logo ke samne bohot drama ho chuka hai abtk . Ab aur nahi." Amairaah looked at her , " Tension mat le . Aaj kya drama hona hai . Kuch bahana maar dungi padhai ka." They had few arguments about when to leave but finally they both agreed to leave after 2 hours. Amairaah decided to take a nap and asked Kavya to wake her up at the proper time

AMAIRAAH , WAKE UP!". She heard some one scream. Still half asleep , Amairaah mumbled out a jumbled word . Kavya put her hands up in air saying "Amairaah you are impossible. Come on you need to go home . Its already 8 . Pohochane Tak 8:30 ho jayenge." Amairaah quickly collected her things and headed for the parking . She quickly got inside the car and left for home . Amairaah had a tickle inside her throat . She knew this kind of feeling. She was well aware of it . It meant that she was going to cough profusely after some time . She just wished that Daya doesn't notice this. She reached home .Before getting out of the car , she drank ample amount of water and put a mint candy in her mouth . This would do untill 5-10 mins untill she manage to answer Shreya 's questions and get inside her room as soon as possible .

She entered the house . " Kitta late Amu ? Bataya tha na waqt pe ana hai karke .." Expected - Amairaah thought . " Woh waqt pe kuch kaam yaad agya toh kavya aur me karre the abtk .Me ati hu fresh hoke ." Amairaah said proceeding towards her room . She had a good look around to see who were present . She saw Abhijeet , Tarika , Rajat , vineet, purvi and dr salunkhe . She didn't see Daya there . She felt a sigh of relief . After reaching the room she changed her clothes , drank a whole lot of water and also gulped a moderate amount of cough syrup . She knew cough syrup is not an answer to the cough caused by smoking . But it would make her survive for a few hours she thought . Having a final look at herself she went downwards.

When she reached the living area , everybody was going towards the dining table . She still didn't find Daya. She danced a little inside . She took her seat and asked shreya , " Daya sir nahi aaye ?" just to make sure . " Nahi woh unko aur ACP sir ko koi meeting attend krni thi toh woh wohi pe hai." She thanked god for her stars today . " Waise Amairaah " Tarika said . " Yes mam " Amairaah asked . " Shreya Daya - Daya krti rehti hai waha tak thik tha . Abhi tum bhi ! Kuch jyada hi jadu kar diya hai Daya ne tumpe! Hai na abhijeet ?" tarika said teasingly . Shreya blushed at this . But Amairaah , She wasn't missing Daya - oo how happy she would be of Daya stopped paying attention to her. The dinner was served . Amairaah took very little portion in her plate . She just wanted to be safe and get away from these bunch of people as soon as possible . The first bite -ok . The second bite - also ok . The third bite - Not bad . Amairaah thought she can do it but at fourth bite , she started coughing . She was being served water . She was being told to look up . And everyone was reacting as if it was a medical emergency. She just pacified them that the food had struck in her wind pipe and she will be just back from washroom . Amairaah excused herself from the scenario . Just as Amairaah left , Daya entered in very formal colthes . He removed his suit and placed it on the back of chair . " Are Daya tum aagye itne jaldi . Aur ACP saab nahi aye tumhare sath ? " Dr salunkhe asked. " Nahi Dr. saab . ACP sir ka dimag chitrole abhi bhi kha raha hai . Mujhe jane ki permission mil gyi . " Daya replied ." Waise ekdum sahi waqt pe aye ho . Abhi just 5 min pehle hi humne khana shuru kiya . Chalo tum bhi baith jao ." Daya nodded and said that he just needs to freshen up a little before starting .

( In the washroom area )

Here Amairaah's cough was taking a turn for worse . She never had this much and what was causing it she thought . She quickly pulled out her cell phone and dialled Kavya's number . " Kavya ...(cough)..(cough)..just check the brand of the cigars I smoked today...(cough)...(cough).." Amairaah asked Kavya . " Does that matter ?" Kavya asked surprisingly cause she had never heard of the question before . "I dont know , Its just that I am coughing a hell lot than normal . I thought unknowingly I have might used a different brand this time ." Kavya told her to stay on hold while she checked that thing . Amairaah was waiting for her answer when she felt that somebody was watching her . She turned to see who it was . As she came to know who it was she just hoped for the ground to swallow her . " Daya sir...aaaaaap...sir aaaaap yaha ?" Daya was staring her with anger boiling at its peak . Amairaah saw his red hot eyes . Those eyes can melt the peaks of Antartica . God she wished she was in Antartica now. Why does she makes things worse for herself .

He came near her and ran his hand over his hair . He looked around the room on both sides and then Amairaah felt a sharp stinging slap on her face. The slap didn't hurt that much . Daya was cautious about that . But he sure made it sting .

Amairaah was shocked to see such outrage of Daya . But deep down she knew that she deserved to be punished .

The problem wasn't his attitude. The problem was her . She was on her bad behaviour and she had obviously lied . Daya had given her many chances again and again. But she fell short for them. And the fact that she didn't learn things easy way , Daya was sure to introduce the harder ones .

Amairaah kept looking at him. Even though Daya scolded her , he made sure to let her know that he cared for her . She expected him to shout at her but he remained silent . More than that his eyes were numb . Numb with pain . Of course she was rude ;her words hurt , but Daya's silence broke her heart .

Seeing the silence , even she didn't utter a word and excused herself from the scene .

Amairaah reached the dining area and started finishing her meal . Daya joined them 10 mins after . After sometime everybody had finished their meal and they were taking leave . Amairaah had excused herself in her room saying she had an exam tomorrow . As Daya was leaving Abhijeet stopped him , "Are Daya, kaha jaa rahe ho tum? Itte late aaye aur itte jldi nikloge ?" Daya was in no mood of teasing but if he had not agreed , Abhijeet would have made an mountain of a mole hill . So he waited .

Data and Shreya were watching some.movie together when suddenly shreya's phone rang . It was Purvi , she had forgotten her house keys at shreya's home . Shreya told her to wait there mid way only and she will come and drop those keys . Daya told her that he will go but shreya refused . So he waited for shreya in the living room itself .

He wasn't going to talk to Amairaah . He was in no mood . He was angry . And he knew that could make things much worse . He didn't regret slapping her. He didnt even a bit . She deserved that he thought . He was continuously thinking untill he heard a scream...

(In Amairaah's room)

Amairaah felt sad for the slap . But she thought to follow what she had decided in the afternoon. She was going to distance herself from Daya. She was not letting him come any closer now at least consciously . Why to think about that guy if he doesn't matter anymore she thought . She changed herself into night clothes and sat on the bed . She pulled out the bottle of sleeping pills from the drawer for she had the fear of nightmares . She needed a good night's sleep tonight . She popped one pill switched off the lights and covered hedself with blankets hoping that sleep will pay her a visit soon enough .

 _ **she was back in the marine tin vessel once again . She could hear the laugh of the guy. she was scared , scared to hell as if who would die now. Her mind tried to get her out of that thing but she couldn't . She was trapped there . The aure made her filled with negative energy . The man suddenly stopped laughing. Amairaah looked at that man. He was raising his hand that had weapon held on it . He came forcefully towards Amairaah in an attempt to hit her . But she ditched it putting herself down for a minute of two. She again started to hear the laugh.She had just dodged the man that was trying to kill her and now he is laughing . That's strange Amairaah thought . But the laughing was growing by the minute .She took a look around when she stpped dead in her senses . There was shreya , lying on the ground with blood oozing out ger head with a great flow . In an attempt to save herself , she had gotten shreya killed . She tried to wake her up . She was shaking her continuously , calling her out by her name but shreya was not responding . She cried . Shreya was the only family she had remaining and she can't let her die . " That's how your mother died right ??" The man said laughingly . Amairaah was still crying. she cant let her sister die. " Well history has repeated itself . Shreya dies the same way as your mother ." said the man and continued laughing . He again started to speak , " Well do you remeber who dies after your mother ?" Amairaah cried. Crying only sge replied " Dad" . The man laughed again. "I wonder who is going to die in his place this time ." Amairaah started searching the whole ship untill she saw a gravely injured man lying around in a pool of blood. This was Daya . No no no she couldn't let him die . She turned her head to the sound of another person . Even after four years she had never forgotten this voice. This was the same man who killed her father . And now her was pointing a gun a Daya. " PLEASE STOP . Please I beg you please stop ." She cried in that person's leg . But it was like she wasn't visible to them anymore . She screamed , she cried..."**_

Daya had quickly made her way to Amairaah's room hearing her scream . He was ready with a gun in his hand if someday had entered the room . But to his surprise her found Amairaah alone in the room on her bed . She had scrunched her face as if in pain , her fists tightened and she was whimpering . A bad dream he thought . Tugging his gun back into his pants he went near the bed quickly and laid a hand on Amairaah's shoulder . He thought that would calm her down .But to his surprise jumping out of the skin Amairaah gave a terrified scream . Daya tried to shake her a little in order to wake her up but when even that didn't work he sat down on the bed took her in his arms and cradled her like he would have cradled a child . She was still screaming and a _nd fear_ striken even in his arms . " Please let them go !!" she again cried in Daya' s arm . What is she seeing that is affecting her so much he thought . He loosened his tie and started whispering soothing things in Amairaah's ear . " Amairaah...Amairaah get up kid . Hum ghar pe hai .Aur yaha sab kuch thik hai . everything's fine. Nothing's damaged .Everything is fine." Finally very slowly her screams had slowed down and they had turned into small sniffles. She slowly opened her eyes .

Shock shown in the eyes of both as the both saw each other . Daya looked at Amairaah's eyes . Her eyes were blood shot , and there was presence of large bags under them . On the Other hand Amairaah was shocked to see Daya . How she had behaved with him , he sould have stopped worrying about her . But here he was lying on her bed comforting her .She put her head under his chin and cried again " I..I'm so..sorry." . She drifted a little bit far from Daya saying this . But Daya' s hold tightened on her and he continued whispering soothing words into her ears . She had calmed down completely now . Very gently Daya placed her on her bed once a again and covered her in blankets.

Daya was about to switch off the lights when he saw shreya coming running to the room . " Kya hua Daya sab thik toh hai na ?" She started toh remove the blankets of her sister's face slightly to have a look but Daya stopped her.

"ssshhh. Aram se sone do . Bura sapna dekhri thi woh. Dar gyi thi toh upar ana pada .Chalo ab jagao mat use. "

They both left the room switching of the lights . Shreya told him that Amairaah had waken up right in the middle of night somedays back . They were discussing about that as were going down ghe stairs.

Radhabai was watching this scene in the Amairaah's room from a distance ." Amairaah beta kitna bhi dur bhagte raho duniya se , logo se ya apne aap se - Ye saab aapko humesha wapas leke ayenge."


	12. Chapter 12

Thank you @Apurva Vaingankar .

@Aditi and saakshi : Thank you so much guys . What would I do without you both .Thank you so much for believing in me when no body else did.

Thank you guestii , hehee , ssshhh anonymous and guest . Your reviews made me so happy .

@Laksara- I felt so happy that you actually thought you're are reading the story of a real girl . Thank you so much my dear friend !

Waiting girl : Sorry for the late update . But It took me really long to think about what would happen next. Now I have a clear picture in my mind . So hopefully next updates would not take so long .

@Mazaki ladki~ Date pe le ke jane ka majak to nahi kar rahe ho "wink wink" . Anywayss loved your review.

 **Chapter 12**

 **A** mairaah had aboutely no pleasure in taking the stimulants. It has not been in pursuit of happiness or the reason for excitement in her periled life . It was just her attempt to escape from the drowsiness that the sleeping pills gave her . Her life had come to a point that she didn't care about what time it was at night . Is is too late to have a sleeping pill ? She stopped thinking about that . Amairaah used to pop them anytime now . And after the struggle of waking up from sleep she used to pop stimulants to keep her awake in the day time . She didn't want anybody to notice her drowsiness .

Thankfully the other people were too busy to notice anything now . Just after the dinner night , some high profile case was reported in the bereau . And it was taking too much too solve this case. All the hardwork , All the struggle and everybody's sleepless night they were not paying off at all . Well at least this was good thing for her . She wasn't interrogated every night .

( In Daya's house )

Abhijeet and Daya were having breakfast . They had returned quite late at night so both of them were going to turn in a little late today morning . Daya had also invited Tarika for breakfast . Abhijeet and Tarika had made the decision of having a court marriage and they were going to fix the date after Shreya returns from her mission . Daya told Abhijeet about the happenings of the night . To say Abhijeet was shocked was an understatement . " Baat ki tune usse us raat ke baad ? " Abhijeet asked . Daya replied " Nahi boss . Kuch baat nahi ki na message kiya . Me chahta hu ki woh khudse aye abhi mere pass." Tarika said, " Daya tum bhi na , ekto bacchi ko daatne tak thik tha . Tumne toh hath hi utha Diya uspe . Ab aur uske baad ye ego leke baitho ho . Baat karlo usse ekbaar ." Daya was confused as to why both of them were thinking that he had ego problems . He said , " Haa Tarika, itne bade bachche par hath uthana galat baat hai .Par pyar se samjhane ke alawa sometimes they need a firm hand for their wrong doing . And don't worry , Mujhe koi ego problem nahi hai . There is a reason behind that . There is a reason ki me chahta hu woh khudse aye yaha baat karne." They had almost finished their breakfast . Abhijeet drank his juice and as he was placing his glass back on the table he said , " Daya ye me bhi janta hu and tum bhi jante ho , Amairaah khudse chalke tumhare pass kabhi nahi ayegi . So isse pehle woh kisi aur problem me fase its better ki tum baat krlo use ." Daya moved his head negatively. He said , " Tum samajh nahi rahe ho Abhijeet . I can talk to her but I can't Force her to listen and follow me . I just cant force her to "get it" , to get that even the worst life is worth a try . Yeah she will get better but only when she herself wants it . She needs to realise that she needs someone . Its her turn to put some effort in this one sided thing . Jab tak ye chiz use khud realise nahi hoti na , It's like I am talking to a wall . And it will not only drive me crazy but her also . So I will wait . Wait for her to realise that its ok if you confide in someone , to let your gaurd down around some people. Lagne do 2 din , 2 hafte ya 2 mahine . And tum dono chinta mat karo baat nahi karra uska matlab aisa nahi hai ki uspe dhyaan hi nahi dera . Dont you worry guys Meri najar hai uspe. "

Abhijeet looked at his younger brother . How matured he had become . How he very carefully handled Amairaah . Ohh how much he wished to tell Amairaah that Daya used to drop in to her college every other day to secretly to check on her . He wished to tell her how keenly Daya used to ask Shreya about her whereabouts. But Abhijeet knew Daya was right . Self realisation was the key to better life .

" Oo mere bhai , sirf subah thoda late ane ki permission mili hai . Apke din ke sapne dekha pure ho gye honge toh chale ??" Daya asked Abhijeet . Everybody laughed and started to leave for the bereau.

(In Amairaah's college)

The four friends were having lunch . They were continuously chatting , cracking jokes and laughing . After having lunch Ehsaan and Kavya left . Lakshya still had time so Amairaah decided to give him company . " Uss raat ke baad baat hui Daya se ?" Lakshya asked . " Nahi . Koi high profile case report hua hai bereau me . Usme busy honge woh . Itteme ghar pe bhi dikhe nahi . Aur achcha hai na ayenge toh daat hi khani hai toh kyu intezaar karu me." Amairaah replied . " Tujhe aisa nahi lagta Amairaah , ki you should apologize to him . I mean he has done enough for you yaar . You owe him at least this much ." Lakshya said looking seriously at Amairaah . " Dekh mujhe apologize karne me problem nahi hai . Par thing is, once I again start the conversation he will again start caring for me . Mera dhyaan rakhne lagenge woh . And Its just like I wanna be left alone. I have endured the worst times of my life alone . I am sure I can handle these days . And look Its not like I am missing him too much . I am fine ." Amairaah said looking at the table. " Jhooth . You miss him. You miss him like crazy . I have seen the way you check your phone to see if he has messaged you. I have noticed a little hesitation before you smoke now a days. You are just too scared to have him in life . May be it's because he wants you to open your heart . He asked you to face yourself. He asked you to see what you have become . And Amairaah when you actually saw what you had became , You were too scared to face yourself ." Lakshya said to Amairaah . His voice bore a perfect confidence . As if he was completely right at reading her mind . Amairaah became silent . Her hand that was playing with spoon suddenly stopped . Laksya continued , " So you have decided to walk away from such people . But do you know the truth about walking away ? ...Its the continous hope that they will return. Its hoping that they will run after you and stop you and convince you to stay .But the truth is they never return . You wanna know why ?" Amairaah asked in a very brittle tone as if she was about to cry , " Why ?" . Lakshya kept a hand on her shoulder and in a very undertone replied ," Coz you never did. You never returned ." Saying enough lakshya left Amairaah to think about the issue alone.

( At the beach )

Amairaah was sitting alone on the rocks of beach . She had dropped kavya and instead of returning home ,she had come to sit here. She never really visited a beach in four years. It reminded her of the fateful day. But today she did. She remembered the day her mother died . How her body was lying in the corner . It had took her nearly 3 hours to accept that her mother had died . Amairaah looked up at the ceiling in order to avoid the tears streaming down her face . She had been holding these emotions for too long now just like a dam that is superglued together and holds a giant body of water . Daya had caused some cracks in her dam . Even the slightest amount of emotion that trickled down that dam terrified her . What if the Dam breaks? What if the flood gates of her emotions open . Would she be able to handle her pain .

She never had this kind of feeling . This was so paradox . After so many years she felt like she belonged to someone but still she wanted to be detached . Someone had actually gave her a reason to stay and yet all she wanted to do was run away . Some one had actually found a way to silence her demons and here she felt like she deserves to suffer with them .

She sat there for a while . She wished that she could sleep for a thousand years . Or just cease to exist . Or just not be aware that she exists . Or just something , anything but not this .

" Khudki galti hai , usme bhi accept karne ki liye takleef ho rahi hai tumko ?" Came a voice from behind . Amairaah wiped her tears using both the hands and turned around to see who it was . " Abhijeet sir , aap ???!!!" Amairaah asked surprisingly . Damn these cops and damn there sources to trace the phone she thought . She got up from a rock and stood there . Amairaah didn't walked towards Abhijeet . Abhijeet sighed . He had no ption left but to walk himself towards her . As Abhijeet came closer he saw her eyes and instantly knew she was crying . He put one hand in his pocket and took out a handkerchief . He forwarded it to Amairaah . Amairaah was reluctant to take it . " Daya sahi kehta hai , isse baat karna matlab deewar se baat karna hai ." Abhijeet said very lightly under his breathe . " Aapne kuch kaha ?" Amairaah asked . " Nahi , kuch bhi toh nahi . Ye rumal lo aur apni akhe thikse pocho." Abhijeet said . Amairaah followed . " Jake Daya se mafi manglo. Sab thik ho jayga ." Abhijeet said to Amairaah . " Tumhari shakal pe likha hai tumhe uski jarurat hai krke ." Somebody just pressed the bitch button . Bitch mode on . " Its too late . I don't need anybody anymore . I can handle trouble and carry the burden . And most importantly I have wandered off too far away , far off the limits from where somebody could bring me back. So thank you for your advice ." Amairaah said as she gathered her belongings . If Abhijeet was in normal senses he would have shouted on Amairaah for her behavior . But He and Daya had talked enough about her .Abhijeet had started knowing about her . This was her way to push people away . He held her hand so that she could stop and said , " Baitho yaha !" Abhijeet literally forced her back to her place . " Kya hua ? What happened to you ? Kya sochte rehte ho din bhar ? Emotionally and mentally day by day you are getting from worse to worst . Why are you shutting down completely anybody who tries to help you ? You dont share your feelings , You push people away and you let negative thoughts in ? You refuse to open up and let someone love and care about you ? Who did that to you ?" Abhijeet asked . Amairaah wasn't sure about opening up to this guy . But did she have any option . No . In a very thin voice she said , " I...I don't know . It feels like I have been like this forever." Abhijeet said to her again," I dont know is not an answer an Amairaah . I want you to think about it . Think about how you should have been and how you are now . Okay ??" Amairaah replied with a plain nod .

They were silenly staring into the sea ,seeing the waves crashing onto the shore . Amairaah broke the silence saying , " I want to be alone . I don't like it when there are people around me . There is already enough noise inside my brain. My mind has screams that are silent . This makes my mind violent .This depression has taken a deep seat inside of me . People around me die . And they drop dead like flies . My mother is dead . Mt father is dead . And this demon inside my head visits me every night to tell me that soon Shreya and Daya will be dead . I dont want a trail of dead bodies behind me . So thats why I push people away . I need you to understand is that when I push people away , Its the only thing I know ." Abhijeet opened his mouth to say something but Amairaah stopped him holding her palm up like a white flag . " Its safe for the people to be alone . You need to understand that perhaps I am just born to experience the abbreviation of love and not the full form of it."

Abhijeet was stunned on hearing this . He didn't know what to say . He was not expecting this at all . He saw Amairaah was gathering her stuff and he didnt stopped her . He saw Amairaah leaving and he was still absorbing what had happened .

( At Amairaah's house)

Amairaah reached the house . She cant keep her sad face . Otherwise everybody wil ask her what happened . So took some water in her hands and sprinkled it on her face . She took some deep breaths and put a fake smile on her face.

Amairaah entered the house shouting . " Radhabai !! Radhabai !! " . Radhabai came and asked , " Kya hua beta ? itti der kaha laga di ?" Amairaah replied smilingly, " Woh bas dost ke sath baithi thi . Radhabai khana laga do na bohot bhuk lagri hai ."

After a few minutes Amairaah came running down for dinner . Dattu was shocked to see her like this . He asked ," Didi , badi khush lag rahi ho ajj ? kuch khas hua kya ?" Amairaah was about to reply when Radhabai came and called her for dinner. " Shreya di ka kuch call wagre aya tha ?" Radhabai replied , " Haa bol rahi thi ki aaj bhi late ho jayga . ACP sir se upar ke bhi bade saab ne rok liya hai , woh bahar gao jani wali hai na uske kaam ke liye . Kafi deri ho jaygi bole ." Amairaah replied with a nod . They were having dinner silently when suddenly Radhabai asked a question , " Maa ki bohot yaad aa rahi hai na aaj ?" Amairaah 's spoon dropped dead in the bowl . Without looking up she asked , " Kyu aisa kyu laga aapko ?" Radhabai cupped her chin and said , " Kyu ki aap kuch jyada hi has rahe ho aaj. Aur me iss hasi me fasne wali nahi hu betaji." Amairaah appreciated her observation . " Haa bas woh thodi si yaad aa rahi thi . Mera khana ho gaya . Me apne room me hu ."

Amairaah entered her room thinking that was it so easy for people to read her . In the afternoon lakshya and now Radha bai .

( Midnight )

 **She was back in the marine tin vessel once again . She could hear the laugh of the guy. she was scared , scared to hell as if who would die now. Her mind tried to get her out of that thing but she couldn't . She was trapped there . The aure made her filled with negative energy . The man suddenly stopped laughing. Amairaah looked at that man. He was raising his hand that had weapon held on it . He came forcefully towards Amairaah in an attempt to hit her . But** **she ditched it putting herself down for a minute of two. She again started to hear the laugh.She had just dodged the man that was trying to kill her and now he is laughing . That's strange Amairaah thought . But the laughing was growing by the minute .She took a look around when she stpped dead in her senses . There was shreya , lying on the ground** **with blood oozing out ger head with a great flow . In an attempt to save herself , she had gotten shreya killed . She tried to wake her up . She was shaking her continuously , calling her out by her name but shreya was not responding . She cried . Shreya was the only family she had remaining and she can't let her die . " That's how your mother died right ??" The man said laughingly . Amairaah was still crying. she cant let her sister die. " Well history has repeated itself . Shreya dies the same way as your mother ." said the man and continued laughing . He againstarted to speak , " Well do you** **remeber who dies after your mother ?" Amairaah cried. Crying only sge replied " Dad" . The man laughed again. "I wonder who is going to die in his place this time ." Amairaah started searching the whole ship untill she saw a gravely injured man lying around in a pool of blood. This was Daya . No no no she couldn't let him die . She turned her head to the sound of another person . Even after four years she had never forgotten this voice. This was the same man who killed her father . And now her was pointing a gun a Daya. " PLEASE STOP . Please I beg you please stop ." She cried in that person's leg . But it was like she wasn't visible to them anymore . She screamed , she cried...**

 **Daya died . His last breath took away his soul . Amairaah saw his last breath as he** **exhaled. And there it was , the last reason for her to be alive , was gone . And gone so far and so hard that it took the left over pieces of her soul with it . Amairaah fell on her knees . Life had ended .""**

Amairaah woke up with a jolt . Her mind was trapped inside the nightmare . Not only trapped it was shaking , trembling , terrified , scared . Still trembling , Amairaah got up to be in Shreya's room . She hadn't returned . She needed to know if Daya was safe . She knew It was just a nightmare ,she had that in the back of her mind. But this time it was a bit different for her. The death scene was still playing in her mind . It was like even after her dream was over she woke up into another nightmare. And this nightmare wouldn't stop playing in her mind. Amairaah went back into her room to search for her phone . She literally threw her belongings here and there to search for it . Once found , she dialled Daya's number . It was out of reach . She tried again two to three times but she couldn't get a hold of him . That means only one option left . She opened her drawer to search for her keys and once she found them , she made a mad dash towards her car . As she stepped outside she saw black clouds sprawled across the sky . The air was growing heavy and the humidity was pressing it down . It was suffocating her . She quickly ran towards her car and sat inside . The life was still around her . And of course why wouldn't it be . It was almost midnight . Th ground was smelling of rain . And suddenly in all the silence there was a loud thunder . The thunder was loud enough to scare her . She saw a silver lining across the sky and in the next moments her windows were seen full of rain drops .But Amairaah didn't care . She started the engine anyways and made her way to the Daya's house .

( Daya's house )

Daya was sleeping peacefully. He missed Shreya . She was quite busy these days. Normal cases in the bereau and then again preparing for her mission . They weren't getting enough time . But Daya was a cop himself . He understood the sacrifices that are to be made .

Suddenly he heard his door bell . He thought he was hearing voices so he fell asleep again but then he heard somone banging the door . He got up from the bed to and checked the timing . Who is banging the door at this time he thought. He got up and procedded towards the door .

Amairaah was hitting the door as hard as she could . And as every moment was passing by it was becoming more scarier for her as to why no one was responding. And the suddenly she heard the sound of door latch and she saw the door being opened . She saw the man she was desperately hoping to be safe. She exhaled deeply as she saw Daya . And suddenly it became so light and clear inside her head . The heaviness had all lifted away and she could breathe normally as she used to.

Daya saw a thin figure in fornt of his eyes . He knew that it was Amairaah . She was totally drenched from the heavy rains outside . Water was dripping on her face from her hair and her clothes had completely stuck to her thin fragile body . " Amairaah ? Tum yaha iss waqt ? " Daya asked . But no reply . She was still stuck in her zone and happy being Daya was alive. " Amairaah , sab thik toh hai na ? Itte barish me yaha kaise kya ayi tum ?" Daya asked again . But still no response . Daya sighed . Daya snapped his fingers in front of her face and suddenly Amairaah came back to reality. Daya again fired questions at her and without listening to them she crashed himself at Daya and hugged him . Daya was shocked . He couldn't understand what was happening . He tried to separate himself from her . He had a good look at her . She wasn't injured .But why was she behaving like this . Daya looked into her eyes and before he could ask anything else Amairaah again snuggled in his embrace . She whispered " You are safe ." Saying this she squeezed her arms a little bit more tight and her breathing evened out . Her figured looked so tiny in front of the big muscular man . She felt contended . It looked like she was melting in his arms and her every muscle had released its tension into the moist air .

Daya was still clueless about what was happening. But without a second thought, he hugged her back . He wrapped his one arm around her and with other arm he rubbed her back in circles . Amairaah loved this gesture and she sunked in too appreciating the warmth that was created by Daya's affection . It felt as if his affection, compassion and care radiated out of his body and made the cold , damp weather a little warmer .

After a few minutes when Daya was satisfied that Amairaah would talk now he separated from her . " Come on, lets get you inside." Daya said and took Amairaah inside by her arm .He made her sit on the dining table and went inside to fetch some thing .Amairaah wondered about why he went inside . She folded her arms around herself feeling cold . In all that hustle bustle she had so much adrenaline running through her body that she couldn't feel the cold but now as its rush was wearing off , she now realised that how wet she was and how cold she is feeling .

Daya returned back with a towel in his hand . He gave it to her . " Pochlo . Maine heater bhi on kar diya hai ." Daya said and went near the stove . He put the kettle on the stove and filling it with all the necessary ingredients . Amairaah then registered that he was making tea . Thoughtfull- thats the only word that came to her mind . This was Amairaah's first time inside Daya's house . Of course she had dropped Shreya here once but that time she had bid her byes from the outside only . She was keenly observing the interiors of the house .

Daya was done with the tea and he came back with two large cups in his hands . He saw Amairaah looking here and there with the towel in her hands . She was looking as if a kid was looking for toys in a toy store . Amairaah didn't even notice Daya . Daya exhaled deeply and then he took the towel from Amairaah' s hand coming from behind and started wiping off Amairaah's head. He was a bit rough at it. " Kya kar rahe ho ? Aise koi pochta hai kya ?" Amairaah asked in pain. " Poch toh raha hu kam se kan . Tumhari tarah tukur tukur toh dekh nahi raha na sirf. " He was done and said ," Chaay piyo."

Amairaah liked this quality in Daya. Even though Daya wanted to discuss things he never pounced on the subject directly making it uncomfortable for her. He waited for her to be relaxed and comfortable . Amairaah could see the steam coming from the cup . The tea smelled good. There were hints of ginger and cardomom in the smell . She took the first sip and the high temperature of the tea made her realise how cold she had been . " Thand hai !" Amairaah said . " Ye sab barish me ane se pehle sochna chahiye tha na " Daya said raising the temperatire of the heater . He placed the remote on the table and asked again , " Waise itte raat me ane ka karan ?" Amairaah fumbled with words . " Woh ...me...me...maine aapko phone karke dekha tha . Lar lag nahi raha tha toh mujhe laga ki kuch .." Daya interuppted her and said ," Mera phone nahi laga toh aapko laga ki mujhe kuch ho gaya. Lekin aapki shakal pe toh bara baje hue the . Aisa lagra tha ki koi horror film dekh ke ayi ho tum ." Amairaah looked down . How much she wished to tell him that her nightnares were a level up than the horror movies. " Aaj kaunsi horror movie dekhi sapne me aapne ?" Daya asked. Amairaah was shocked . How could he know that she was having nightmares. Daya expected this expression . " Mujhe kaise pata yahi soch rahe ho na? Us din bhi nind me bohot dari hui thi . Shant karna mushkil ho raha tha mujhe. Tumhe shayd yaad nahi hoga . Tumhari nind puri tarah se khuli hi nahi thi kyu ki ." Daya told her . Amairaah was taking too long to register all of this . Every type of question was popping inside her head . When did she have a nightmare in front of Daya . Did she screamed that loud . Was she crying that night . Amairaah was still engrossed in her thoughts when Daya asked her , " Kya dekh rahe ho Amairaah aap itna ? Do you wanna talk about it ?" Amairaah nodded her head in a "No" . Daya didn't pressurize her .

Now Daya had a clear picture in his mind as to what he wants to explain Amairaah. Daya now knew that why Amairaah never shared any of her problems. She felt too unfamiliar in the environment. He wanted to tell her that there are people who consider her as their own. Whom Amairaah could confide in and share her problems . Because he always felt that she was scared about talking to other persons about her problems. So today he was going to make her realise that he was not any other person but the one she could always confide in. He needed her to open up about her fears, her dreams her pains and her feelings . And for that it was important for him to convince her that he was a family.

"Accha . Aao Idhar baitho mere sath . " Daya asked her to join him in living room . " Us din sensor ka jo kissa tha usme tumhe aisa nahi lagta ki shreya ki galti thi ." Daya questioned Amairaah . Amairaah was not expecting this at all. And that too Daya blaming Shreya . " Nahi di ki kya galti hai ? Unhe toh kuch andaja bhi nahi tha aisa ho sakta hai . Aur galti meri bhi toh thi na." Daya again asked , " Nahi , Amairaah kuch galti toh shreya ki thi . Aur fir tum bhi toh gussa thi uspe . Fir kuch galti meri bhi thi . Tumne toh mujhe pain killers ke barime bataya bhi tha . Fir bhi maine baat nahi suni . Abhijeet bhi gussa tha mujhepe . Aur fir Abhijeet ke baad ACP sir ka bhi toh number ata hai . Woh bhi kitne gussa the humari laparwahi se pata hai tumhe ? " Amairaah still confused said , " Isme aap sab logo ki kya galti hai ? Aap ko kaise pata rahega ki aisa kuch hone wala hai . Aap thode future predict kar sakte ho . Woh toh situation hi kuch aise ban jati hai ki koi kuch nahi kar sakta. " Daya was happy listening to this. He again said , " Haa baat toh bilkul barabar hai Amu . Aisa bohot baar hota hai pata hai. Kabhi me galti karta hu , Kabhi Abhijeet , kabhi Tarika , Kabhi Sachin aur kabhi kabhi toh khud ACP sir. Toh kya tumhe aisa lagta hai ki galti karne ke baad jisse galti hui hai use suspend kar dena chahiye ?" Amairaah thought for a minute and said , "Nahi . Everybody tries his best . I know you people do . So why even consider anybody kicking out of job ?" Daya was getting happy by the minute ." You are right Amairaah . Though we are in a professional job , itte saal sath me kaam karne ke baad we love each other dearly even after all their faults . Do you know why ?" Amairaah was confident in answering this question . " Because you guys are like a family and families stick together in times of need." Daya gave Amairaah a proud smile . " Exactly , we are like a family . We will always be there to help each other in the times of need . Abhijeet humesha mujhe madat karne ke liye tayar rehta hai and aur me bhi . We are there for each other and every other member of the family , including you my stubborn sister in law."

Things finally fell in place for Amairaah . She stared at Daya . So this is what being a part of a family means , Amairaah thought astonished . You dont have to do everything by yourself . You have people you can lean on and turn to help in times of need . You have people that have got your back. You have people you can talk to without being considered weak or bothersome .And even though you commit mistakes nobody will ever leave you . The more she thought , the more happier she became untill a smile crept on her face . " I get it." Amairaah said .

Daya chuckled seeing Amairaah's enthusiasm and smiled widely at her . He bent down to her level in front of her couch and pulled her into a hug. Amairaah could see the joy and relief on his face as he gazed at her lovingly .

Daya cupped her chin and said , " I know you have had bad days and then some days where you felt you could just die. But its okay. Things happen . And you only said that we cant predict what will happen. So there is no magical cure. All you need is to have some right people at your side and the courage to dream again . So close your eyes for once and let the waves pass to see that one day everything will be back again to normal . Okay ??" Amairaah nodded happily . Daya again said , " Amairaah , as happy as I am at your realisation about your family I want you to know that we have a lot to discuss . And it will be better if we start it soon ." Amairaah frowned at the concern . What could be more to discuss she thought . Daya sensed this and said , " But dont worry , This is not a good time . Shreya kuch dino me jaa rahi hai and kab tak ayegi iska andaja nahi hai. So we will spend time together . You will spend time with your **family".** Amairaah heaved a sigh of relief. Daya told her that he would drop her home as it was already late .

As they reached Amairaah's house , She stepped outside of car and walked towards the door . Daya was still watching her . He never left untill he was sure that she had safely entered the house . Amairaah opened the door and before closing waved at Daya . Daya left .

Amairaah closed the door and rested against it for a few moments . A smiled formed across her face . She remembered how she had started the day and here she was at the end feeling contended being a part of family .


	13. Chapter 13

@Aditi: Thank you Aditi for your generous comments. Btw I hope that I am comitting less mistakes now .

@ Ssshhh: Your reviews make me feel more awesome.

@Guestii : A very big dhanyawaad for your big sabashi .

@Laksara : Here is your next update. I hope you also find this chapter awesome.

@Hehee : Thank you for your good wishes.

@SakshiB: Thanks for your review sakshi.You wanted to know something about me. So here is it. I am also a medical undergraduate student. In fact My exam starts the day after tommorow ( Wish me luck :-P :-P) I am an avid reader . My favorite genre is mythology, history and astrology . Well thats kind of weird but I can't help myself. I have too much curiosity about the science behind the traditions of all religions. I have an odd interests in the old , rusty things which people called corny now-a-days . Well thats what came to my mind now. Hope that's okay !!

@Apurva Vaingankar : It gives me immense satisfaction that a character created by me was able to connect with in some way or the other.I hope the person you confide in stays with you forever .

Thank you mp304 , Anonymous and guest for your reviews .

CHAPTER 13

Most of the times we are caught in the whirlwinds of our work that begins in the monday morning and lasts till sunday night from where it begins all over again . Time slips by as we are busy juggling jobs , managing household works , attending colleges , tending to appointments and commitments . To break all this vicious cycle there is only one solution - To spend time with your family. But for Amairaah she had completely forgotten what being a part of family meant . Of course she had Shreya all the time but a proper family structure was still lacking. This was the case untill Daya came into her life. He moulded the unorganized lump of clay into something beautiful. He touched their perfect emotional spot where he knew both of them would bleed. He held them when they felt the need. He shaped them when he thought it was necessary . And the work was resulting into something so beautiful, so worthy that even God was going to be jealous.

It was the last week of Shreya before her mission. She was done preparing for it. Apart from the normal cases reported in bereau she returned straight home . She and Daya spent a quality time together. They didn't watch movies but most of the time they spent was gone talking . God shreya had missed those heart to heart conversations . They were not forced , Not caution but talks just flowed . In all this Daya didn't forget Amairaah. How could he . She was his sister now. And the best part of having a sister almost young by 10-12 years was that he always wanted one. And destiny had agreed. In this week they had dinners , after dinner walks. They shared the stories of their families and sometimes even cooked together.

Finally it was night before the final day . ACP sir had come for dinner . They had their dinner peacefully and he was about to leave. Before leaving he warned Shreya not to be awake the whole night just chitchatting . But as soon as ACP sir left , Shreya ran towards Amairaah's room . She was working something on her laptop. Shreya sat on the bed and patted a seat next to her asking Amairaah to sit besides her. Amairaah obliged . " Tu thikse rehna samjhi ?? Koi badmaashi aur badtameezi nahi ! Nahi toh mere ane ke baad bohot maar khaygi !" Amairaah laughed at that. " Hasna kya hai usme ?" Shreya asked. Amairaah replied , " Tu chinta mat kar . Tera boyfriend hai na Meri galtiyo ko dekhne ke liye . Mujhe samjha dega aur jarurat padne pe maar bhi dega." Both of them laughed at that . " Waise tu comfortable toh hai na uske sath . Me tujhe kisi bhi tarah se force nahi karna chahti." Shreya asked Amairaah . Amairaah kept her both hands on Shreya's palm and assuringly said , " I am okay with him . He makes me feel everything is nice and normal and okay . And you know what I haven't been onay in a while ." Shreya was very happy at this reaction . What else she wanted . Her life had finally staryed to take some shape. They continued their chatting untill sleep overpowered them .

( In the morning)

Shreya was up early . She had finished her morning chores and was downstairs giving inportant instructions to Radhabai .She was giving Radhabai some important phone numbers in case of emergencies. She had written the number of Daya , Abhijeet and even Tarika. Amairaah was ready and she came downstairs. Both of them started having breakfast . Daya was going to drop Shreya to the airport. Just as they finished their breakfast , Daya arrived . He enquired about all the necessary things and other stuff , if Shreya had packed them properly. They started loading luggage into Daya's car . Shreya bid a final goodbye to Radhabai and Dattu and they left for airport.

(On the airport)

Shreya and Amairaah were sitting in the waiting area and Daya had gone to enquire about the flight details . Shreya was holding Amairaah's hand . She knew how hard it was going to be for her. She knew how Moody Amairaah can get once she leaves and how hard it was going to be to manage her. But Daya had assured her not to worry about anything here . She was deeply engrossed in her thoughts when suddenly someone tapped her shoulder from behind . " Tarika !!" Shreya exclaimed as she hugged her. " Good morning sir!" Shreya wished Abhijeet . " Sab tayari ho gyi ?" Abhijeet asked and they continued the talking. Abhijeet saw Amairaah behind Shreya . Amairaah gave a sheepish smile and Abhijeet nodded in appreciation. Amairaah still wasn't comfortable around him . She had this very strict image of him in her mind that made her scared . She excused herself from the scene telling the people that the she will search for Daya.

After sometime Daya returned with Amairaah. It was time for Shreya to leave . She hugged Amairaah for one last time and left . Amairaah saw the leaving figure of Shreya . Her brain suddenly shut down. She had become clammy and cold sweat glistened on her forehead . She thought about her tailor made scariest nightmares . She wanted to say something but her throat lacked moisture and only a croak came out of her mouth. Daya sensed her fear and he put his arms around her shoulder . Amairaah shuddered at the sudden sensation of touch. She looked at the arm and traced it to see whose it was . She looked at Daya . Her teary eyes widened . Daya's hold on Amairaah tightened and he looked into her eyes withe the maximum assurance he could provide . Amairaah inhaled deeply and very silently exhaled her fears.

It was time for the four people to leave. Abhijeet and Tarika were directly going to the bereau . Daya told Abhijeet that he would join them after dropping Amairaah.

Amairaah felt tired . Thanks to the sleepless nights . She hadn't gotten a perfect sleep since weeks. But at least the tablets would help her in a way . But last night was spent chit chatting with her sister. She looked at herself in the side view mirror of Daya's car . There were grey colored bags under her eyes. Her hair were messy though she had tied them in a ponytail . Her eyelids were getting heavy. "Tired ?" Daya asked as they both took a seat inside the car . " No I am fine !" Amairaah replied. " Liar" Daya said. Amairaah rested herself comfortably on the seat and closed her eyes. She relaxed when suddenly her heart skipped a beat when she heard the sound of loud music . Daya laughed at her antics . " Don't do that !" Amairaah said poking Daya's shoulder. The rest of the ride was silent. They reached Amairaah's house. " I will call to check on you. Haa aur kuch bhi jarurat pade toh ekbar call kar dena. Me safeside Abhijeet ka bhi number bhej deta hu." Amairaah nodded .

Amairaah hurried into the house . She had a very few time left for her college. She had decided not to take stimulants today but it looked like there was no choice. She popped one tablet and left for college.

( In the college )

Amairaah was walking towards her department. She was one hour late today because she had gone to drop Shreya. She had taken prior permission for it though. She was so engrossed thinking something that she didn't notice Kavya behind her. Kavya took this opportunity to surprise Amairaah. She came from from behind and covered Amairaah's eyes with her hands . " Happy birthday Amairaah ! " . Amairaah recognized kavya by her hands only. " Thanks !" Amairaah said very blandly. " Achcha di ne kya gift diya . Cake cut kia ghar pe ?" Amairaah laughed at that. " Tu pagal hai kya me kabse cake cut krne lagi . Haa pata nahi iss baar di bol rahi thi ki kahin shopping chalte hai tere bday ke liye par tujhe toh pata hai na mujhe ye shopping wagre bilkul pasand nahi . " Kavya facepalmed herself . " Tu bhi na Amairaah . Apne bday k liye itta koi unexcited kaise ho sakta Hai. Aur agar khudse pooch rahi thi toh naya mobile mang leti na waise bhi jabse us sensor wale insan se takrayi , mobile toh dabba hi ban gaya hai tera. " Amairaah laughed at that. They both dropped the conversation and headed towards their respective department.

( Flashback)

"18 legally adult" Amairaah thought . It was her birthday today. Amairaah had a history of celebrating her birthdays mostly with her mother . Mainly because her father was mostly out if the city and Shreya had been out of the county since 3 years . But she didn't mind it. Of course she missed them but she never complained . After completing her morning chores , Amairaah went down the stairs searching for her mother . " Maa...Maa...kaha ho aap ?" She shouted . And the next second her mother appeared before her with a pooja thali in her hand . Behind her was Radhabai carrying some box of sweets . Her mother applied the red crimson powder over her forehead using her finger .Her mother said " Janam din ki lakh lakh badhiyaaa ". Amairaah touched her mother's feet to take her blessings ."Humesha khush raho !" Her mother said . Amairaah's mother took one piece of sweet in her hands and bought it towards Amairaah's mouth in order to feed her ." Maa tum janti ho na mujhe meetha nahi pasand !" Amairaah'Amairaah's mother laughed at that, " Aaj ke din toh khana padega na beta. Kya kare Bhagwan ko prashad me khatta achaar toh nahi chadha sakte na." All three of then dissolved in laughter . Amairaah started having her breakfast ." Maa apne kaha Tha ki iss bday pe aap naya mobile dengi gift me." Amairaah said to her mother . " Papa ane ke baad unse mang lena jo bhi chahiye woh." Amairaah's mother replied . " Kya maa aap bhi ek hi ek jawab deti rehti ho. Achcha thik hai papa se hi mang lungi ane ke baad. Achcha me niklati hu college ke liye." Amairaah was excited to go to college . Of course why wouldn't she be . It was her birthday and she was excited to see her friends. It was her day today !

The day went pretty well . Amairaah returned home . As she entered the house . She found 2 cakes 2 bouquets and 2 cards . She went near them running . She picked up one card , It read-

" Happy birthday dear motu ,

Wished I could be there to celebrate with you on your special day to make it better. But none the less . Here's a cake on my counterpart.

Have a great day !!

Aur haa jyada cake mat khana bohot moti ho jaogi !

Your's loving,

Shreya di"

She missed her sister . But never on her birthday shreya had forgotten to send her a cake and favourite flowers. She picked up the second card. She knew It was her father's. Great minds think alike she thought. The other card read-

"On this day years ago I received one of the best gifts I could have ever received .

My beautiful baby girl was born and life was never the same again .

God has been so kind since . So here's wishing you a lifetime full of happiness .

Happy birthday dear daughter !!! Hope you like your gift !

Your's loving ,

Baba. "

She missed her father . She wished he could be there . But he had more important jobs to do. She searched the table for her gift and found one . She opened the parcel and there it was . The latest model of the phone she wanted. She squealed in happiness , " Ab toh khush hai ? Mil gaya na jo gift chahiye tha woh ! Tere dil ki baat toh badi achchise pohoch jati hai papa tak." Amairaah's mother said to her .Amairaah laughed at that . She cut the cake in the presence of her mother ,Radhabai and Dattu . ""

( Present)

It was the last birthday Amairaah had celebrated with her parents . She missed them . Especially her mother on this day. She never celebrated her bday after their death. Shreya asked her everytime but she denied giving reasons . This time also Shreya had asked her . But without even giving it a thought she had declined it .

The college was nearly over . She had served 1 hour extra in the evening to compromise for late today morning . It was already 6 in the evening and she started packing her bags. She left for her home . Radhabai used to cook some special dish on this day no matter how much Amairaah had denied . Radhabai always said " Kuch toh lagna chahiye na ki janamdin mana rahe hai . Nahi toh aapki mummy toh humpe hi naraz ho jaygi ." Afterall Radhabai had her ways in making people do what she wants. She reached home and she found Daya . What was he doing here Amairaah thought . " Aap yaha ?" Amairaah asked . Daya smiled at her and said , " Haa , maine tumse kaha tha we have lots to discuss. Toh maine socha why not today ?" Amairaah didn't want that . Of course she knew it was not possible but she didn't want the discussion thing at least today . She even thought in mind that if she tells Daya about her birthday would he spare her for a day ? But she decided not to tell him. " Aajse nahi naaaa !! kisi din aur ." Amairaah said to Daya. Daya very calmy said to Amairaah , " Amairaah you know that we need to talk ." This infuriated Amairaah ." No we don't. There is nothing to talk about ! So drop it ." Amairaah said stubbornly . Daya just looked at her sadly and began to speak again , " For the hundredth time I am telling you to controll your anger .And I am afraid , I am not giving you a choice here. Its obvious that something is bothering you and I refuse to stand by and watch you fall apart." Daya said sternly. Amairaah winced at the tone but she was unwilling to back off . Although she completely considered Daya as her family but still she was reluctant in sharing her things. " I don't know what you are talking about . I have everything under controll . I dont want or need your help. So stop interfering." Amairaah said again. She needed him to go. She desperately needed him to go. She didn't want to tell him about her nightmares . He will think that I have gone crazy or perhaps consider me a weakling Amairaah thought . She got up to go to her room but was blocked by Daya at the stairs .He was looking at her angrily with his arms crossed. " I have told you a lot of times Amairaah to watch your temper. So if you don't want a repeat of slap show today I suggest you behave properly . " Daya said staring into her eyes with anger and disappointment. Amairaah shifted her gaze slightly away from his guiltily. "Furthermore Maine tumhe pehle hi bata diya tha ki me tumhe choice nahi de raha hu . So here's what you are going to do. You are going up to your room and changing clothes. And after that when you have eaten something we will go to my house . And we are going to talk because I no longer trust you that you can take care of yourselves " Amairaah was going to protest but something made her to think otherwise . She took the clean clothes from the hands of Radhabai and went to her room.

As Amairaah was getting dressed, she couldn't help but feel hurt by what Daya had said; how he didn't trust that she could take care of myself. While a part of her agreed, another larger part raged at the stinging remark. Once clean, she walked downstairs . She had some milk and toasts . After she had finished , they both left for Daya's house .

The ride was silent . Amairaah glared at him remaining seated . She thought that he was treating her like a child . Amairaah decided that next time she wasn't going to accompany him anywhere.

They reached Daya's house . Daya said , " Tum andar jao me ek call karke ata hu." Amairaah nodded with anger still visible in her eyes .

Amairaah opened the door . It was complete darkness . She tried to find the switches to the light but she wasn't finding it easily . " Daya sir , ghar pe bulate ho toh thoda toh ujala rakh liya karo !!" she shouted . She was still continuing her search operation but suddenly she heard some music . She listened to it with concentration. It was the musical tone of a birthday song . She turned her head to see from where it was coming . But instead of finding the source . She saw Daya arranging candles on a cake. The room was still completely dark and the only light was seen was that coming from the candles. She was perplexed ." Happy birthday Amairaah !!" Someone said from behind very mildly. She turned around to see who it was , it was Tarika . She was still not understanding what was going on . Tarika again said , " Cake nahi katogi , Amairaah ..Daya ko badi mushkil se jaldi jane diya hai sham ne Acp sir ne . Abhijeet bhi ane wale the par woh kisi case me atak gye . Mujhe toh akhir me lagra tha ki mujhe akeli ko hi tumhe surprise dena hoga . Par Daya managed . Chalo aao !" Tarika held Amairaah's hand and took her towards the dining table. Daya was done with the candles and he looked up and said , " Happy 22nd birthday Amairaah !" Amairaah was still gathering the thoughts . " Kya soch rahi ho ?" Daya asked . " Aap...aap logo ko ye sab aur itni mehnat kyu?" Amairaah said not even able to form a single coherent statement. " Apno ke liye mehnat bhi khushi se karte hai !!" Daya replied . " Are chalo , isse pehle Daya ko firse office fone ajaye , jaldise cake cut karo !" Amairaah wasn't even given a second to think . She cut the cake . She fed it to Daya and then Tarika and they reciprocated the same . " Haa ye lo !! Shreya kuch diya hai tumhare liye !" Daya said taking some paper parchment out of his back pockets. Amairaah opened it and read ,

" Hiee motu , Ummeed hai apko apka surprise pasand aya hoga . Hum toh aapka birthday kal hi manana chahte the lekin kya kare aap itne bore insan jo thehre . Anywayss hope tumne Daya , Tarika and Abhijeet sir ke sath maja kiya hoga . Tarika ko ekbaar thank you bol dena ye sab plan uska tha . Aur haa gift kaisa laga ?? Gift Daya ki choice ka hai !!

And as always cake Puri mat khana , aur motu ho jaogi .

your's loving,

Shreya di !!...,..."

Amairaah smiled at the letter . She read it again and again. It was hard for her to digest it . A small tear was seen on her cheeks . " Are baapre , Tarika isse pehle ye aur emotional ho jaye , jao iske gifts leke aao ." Daya said wiping Amairaah's face . Tarika returned with 2 boxes . She gave the first one to Amairaah , " Ye Shreya aur Daya ke tarafse." Tarika said . Amairaah opened the gift and found a new phone . Only one thing floated in her mind . Her mother's dialogue , " Kaise kya papa ko pata chal jata hai tumhe kya chahiye ??" She was constantly looking at the phone . Was this some kind of Awakening for her . Was Daya the perfect person to take her father's place . She was still musing over all these questions when Daya asked , " Kaisa laga ?" Amairaah answered " Perfect " . Tarika handed another box to her . " Ye mere aur Abhijeet ki tarafse !" Amairaah opened the second box and found Bluetooth speakers . " ye bhi bohot achche hai !" Amairaah said to Tarika . Tarika happily said , " Chalo ab dinner kar lete hai ! " As they were arranging plates for dinner , suddenly Daya's phone rang . Sadly he was called back to the duty. Tarika assured Daya that she would safely drop Amairaah home . Daya left wishing amairaah once again. He told Tarika to keep the keys below the pot outside and Tarika replied affirmatively .

Tarika and Amairaah were having dinner .

"Kya sochri ho Amairaah ? Daya ke barime, hai na ?" Amairaah said " Haa woh me Daya sir ke sath kaisa bhi behave karti hu woh humesha itne achchise kyu pesh ate hai merese ? " Tarika smiled , " Hmm , tumhe pata hai ? Daya aisa hi hai . Agar samne koi apna dikh jaye use toh bina soche apna sab kuch de baithta hai . Chahe use return me achcha mile ya bura . Bachpan me koi Apna tha nahi na uska toh abhi Jo apne mile hai unki bohot kadr karta hai. " Amairaah's curiosity increased . She again asked , " Bachpan me koi apna nahi tha matlab ?" . Tarika told her about the orphanage that Daya grew in and his childhood life. Now suddenly something made sense to Amairaah. The day after her father's anniversary , Daya had said to her" Sau baar gir chuka hu , isiliye bata raha hu . Aur girne ke baad jab koi uthane nahi rahta tab kaise lagta hai woh bhi janta hu . Aur teri fikar karta hu isiliye tujhpe najar rakhta tu . Samjhi ?? " Amairaah slapped herself mentally for behaving like this with him . How bad can she turn . " Don't worry Amairaah , Abhi ye mat socho ki me kitni buri hu . You are just lost . And trust me when you are lost there is no better person than Daya to bring you back ."

They finished the dinner and Tarika locked Daya's house . She carefully placed the key under the clay pot and the safy dropped Amairaah home .

The whole night Amairaah was surely going to wonder about a lot of things !!


	14. Chapter 14

@Apurva Vaingankar- Some relations whether of blood or not , should always be cherished !!! Thank you for the review.

@Sakshi.B - Hayeeeiinn aapke reviews hi mera dil lejate hai . Bade achche reviews likhte ho. My name is Meenal btw !!

@Ria- " Heart touching" thank you for these two words

@aditi- You know every time I write a chapter , since the beginning I am always waiting ki abhi aditi ka review ayega , abhi ayega aditi ka review !!! Thank you as always.

@Sunshine: Don't worry I will keep your heart safe.

@Anonymus - Thank you !!

@Mystiques- Yeah its a different concept. I wanted some good sister fic but couldn't fine one. So I chose to write one.

@laksara - Thank you for saying that emotions are a great plus point of my story !

@hehee- Happy that you loved my portrayal.

@srikant - Thank you so much srikant !! My story is among someone's favourite. What else I could ask for !

@Pururu Dareya- You know what , My regular reviewers had already reviewed the story so I thought ki hogya abhi review nahi ayega and then comes a mail for your review ! And the last line of your review just made my day ! Thank you so much for writing such beautiful words.

@Lolzz -Emotions ...emotions...emotions...aur bohot sare dikhaungi ! Padhte raho !!

@guest - Yes the portrayal of Daya is quite differet from other fics. Believe me it takes a lot of time to decide ki ab Daya kya karega !!

@Reviewer- Thank you for aprreciating my hard work !!

@Rishu - Thank you for the first review !! Yeah I know people are loving Amairaah a little more than shreya ! And they should cause the story is about her .Abhi filhaal ke liye me aisa likh rahi hu ki Amairaah is overpowering Shreya , But let the time come , Shreya ka character bhi bolega !!

Chapter 14

Amairaah was reading some psychology journal . That branch had never interested her. But anything can be done when you are bored and have no work . She was just turning pages and she came across this thing " Crossword for emotions. Lets give it a try " - Amairaah said . First clue - 4 letters word , the primitive human feeling which is the governing force of the world . Only one thing came to her mind. Fear - A four letter word already . Second clue - Again a four letter word , for something scary . Love - Amairaah thought . Bingo !! Fear and love. She laughed at the two words . These two words would always cause her mind to wander .

Amairaah's mind wandered. At one moment she thought about what happened 4 years ago.At next she thought about what happened 3 months ago and then she thought about what happened 2 days ago at her birthday. But then again at the very next moment she thought about the thing that was supposed to happen after her birthday. Amairaah expected that Daya would call her to talk about things. But he didn't. Of course he called her once a day to check on her but the topic she was dreading about never came up . Her mind was a chaos. Amairaah was really confused because she knew even though Daya would ask her to discuss things she would very roughly reply with a no . Just as she had thrown an angry fit about it on her birthday. Amairaah knew it was wrong Very very wrong .But the main point was when she herself didn't want the discussion with him then why was she wondering about him not asking for it.

So this was it. A battle between choosing one of two things. Either Choose a relationship that means a lot or chose remain fearful and let this person go. A battle between 2 basic motivating forces of life . Fear and love . Should she Open the doors completely for Daya and let the emotions flow or Should she let her mind be overpowered by fear . Just as she had always let it. " What exactly should I do ?" Amairaah asked herself loudly. But as soon as she heard her voice , She looked down in embarrassment. " Great now I am talking to myself !" Amairaah thought. She was pondering over all the thoughts when her phone vibrated. " Free for a movie tonight ?" It was message from Tarika . It was just a simple question with a simple answer yes or no . But even that made Amairaah think . Waha kaun kaun hoga ? Will Daya be there . And if its Tarika there's a chance that even Abhijeet would be present. Aur agar waha dono bhi honge toh mera kya hoga ? These were some of the few questions that came in Amairaah's mind. This habit of overthinking needs to change Amairaah thought . She was still thinking what to answer when another message popped up . " Please free your time. Koi bhi free nahi hai aaj . Na abhijeet Na Daya aur Shreya to hai hi nahi. Tum mana mat karo !" Now how could Amairaah decline that . She typed " Yes "with some smileys and hit the send button. A movie would be good .Also It was long time she had watched any movie so for a time being the change would not harm her . She didn't realise it was almost evening . She went downstairs to make herself some tea. She had spent the whole sunday afternoon lazying around and now she needed some thing to refresh her . After about 20 mins she was done with drinking her tea and had a look at the watch . She decided to start getting ready. Tarika would be here any moment. And she was right . Just after getting ready Tarika was there honking the car from outside . Radhabai and Dattu had gone somewhere so she left a note at the door for them after locking and sat in Tarika's car.

( At the theatre)

Amairaah hoped horribly that the movie Tarika had tickets for should not be any family drama or a Romantic cliche. She didn't like those. She loved biographies or movies based on any particular true incident . But as always luck was not her side. It turned out to be a romantic cliche . She even wondered if Abhijeet and Daya were actually busy or they had just decided to ditch out. Amairaah laughed at that thought. " Kya hua ? Hasi kyu aa rahi hai tumhe ?" Tarika asked . That made Amairaah laugh more . How could she controll her laugh with a stupid Romantic movie ticket in her hand and hilarious thought about how the two boys had ditched their friend . Tarika was still not able to understand so instead of further prying she dragged Amairaah to the screening area by the hand . They took their seats and waited for the movie to start.

( During the movie )

Amairaah was actually not paying complete attention to the movie . She was busy looking here and there , Answering texts on her cell phone . She even thought about messaging Daya and asking if he was really busy or he and Abhijeet were watching an action movie at home. She suddenly looked sideways towards Tarika . She was sniffling and trying to wipe the tears on her face . Amairaah was amazed how could a movie make you cry this much . A very emotional scene must be going on she thought. But without even looking at the screen she started hogging on the popcorn .

Amairaah was still continuously hogging without paying attention to the movie untill she heard some thing that made her petrified. It was nothing but a dialogue in the movie . Amairaah's hand had completely stopped dead in the tracks between the popcorn box and her mouth . She wasn't even looking at the screen . The actors didn't matter to her . She only wanted to hear the voice . It said -

" You leave but you don't stay gone . Why do you that . What makes you think you should do that ? Why do you abandon the things you wanna keep ? Why do you linger in the places from where you wanna leave ? You have to make a decision . Either you stay or you leave . And if you plan on leaving , you leave now . You don't start a game and decide in between that you wanna leave. Cause may be its okay for you. But to the people around you its a horrible horrible thing. It horrible to do both . To go and to return and that to all at once ."

Amairaah kept the popcorn back into the container . Suddenly she felt as if the dialogue was just made for her situation . It was perfect for how she was stuck in her own paradoxical feelings. But what made her think more was the last part . Was she doing justice to Daya ? He was going at the end of the worlds to help her and what was she doing ? And how idiotic her behavior was . For one time she cries hopelessly around him and the next when he asks her about the things she literally pushes him away .

The movie ended and the two girls decided have something at a restaurant . So they went inside one which was the closest to their movie theatre. Both of them ordered and things and were talking about the movie . Amairaah's mind suddenly went back to the only dialogue she had heard and she kept thinking and thinking about that only . Maybe she could ask Tarika some of her doubts . She was a good friend of Daya . Amairaah thought. " Dr. Tarika , woh me puch rahi thi ki Daya sir ne bole the ane wale dino me hum dono kuch jaruri bate discuss krenge. Mujhe laga bday ke baad woh fone krenge lekin abtak aya nahi unka fone ? " Tarika literally had firecrackers in her mind on hearing this questions. She was finally happy that Amairaah was thinking on her point . But Tarika had to keep a straight face , she couldn't let Amairaah read her face . " Tum bhi kaha baat karna chahti ho Amairaah usse . Aur jabtak Baat karne aur sunne me dono ka equal participation nahi rehta na toh woh baat karne ke matlab hi nahi hai . Right ??" Tarika replied. She was not going to let her guard down. Amairaah had a feeling that Daya might be sharing things with Abhijeet and Tarika and that's why she confidently answered her and that too on the point. They continued eating . When the were almost finished Tarika said to Amairaah , " Amairaah, Tumhe pata hai us din shreya se baat karte karte tumhari maa ka naam pata chal mujhe. Dhriti !! Bohot anokha aur khoobsurat naam hai ." Amairaah nodded . She knew it was a unique name but what she didn't knew that why the name was coming up now . " Dhriti ka matlab janti ho tum ?" Amairaah said " Nahi , aur kabhi dhyaan me bhi nahi aya !" .Tarika kept down her spoon and said , " Dhriti ka matlab hai a courageous woman . And I guess it suited her quite well . Haa desh ki suraksha ke liye tumhare papa jakhmi hote the . Lekin Apne sab ichcha akansha chod ke apne hi pati ki zindagi me desh ke baad 2nd number pe rehna it takes courage . And when their time Came , Even your mom whole heartedly gave her life with your father. Tab woh naam padhke aisa laga ki Maybe Shreya aur tumme jo courage hai woh tumhari papa ki wajahse nahi , tumhari maa ki wajahse hai." Amairaah smiled at that. Yes everybody talked about her father but no body talked about the sacrifices her mother had made . Tarika continued further , " Tumhe Shreya ka meaning pata hai ?" Amairaah nodded in a no again. " Shreya ka matlab hai ? The most beautiful girl in the world . The girl who is able to see the beauty in everything and everybody inspite of all their imperfections. And she already had her mother's braveness. A goddess in every sense ." Amairaah appreciated Tarika's knowledge about all the stuff but it looked like Tarika wasn't done talking . " And the last one , Tumhe pata hai Amairaah ka matlab kya hai ?" Amairaah again nodded in a no . She wondered at the irony . She didn't even know what she meant . Tarika continued , " Amairaah means the girl who's beauty is everlasting ." Amairaah was contended upon hearing the meaning. She smiled internally about the choices of the names her parents had made . They both had finished eating and the waiter had took their soiled utensils and returned with the bill . Tarika paid the bill. Amairaah asked if she should pay it. But Tarika denied. Never they had allowed her to pay . Neither Tarika nor Daya. As Amairaah was about to get up. Tarika kept her hand on Amairaah's hand. Amairaah sat on the table again confused as what happened now. Tarika said , " Amairaah- The girl who has everlasting beauty . .Let Daya help you to preserve it. Let us help you keep your soul beautiful as it was 4 years ago. We all have our demons. You have your demons that have built a hell inside your mind. Let him help you to build your paradise back again." Amairaah was stunned . She had never expected this from Tarika . But here she was clearing the confusion in her hear in a most beautiful way . Amairaah nodded her head positively and they both left .

( In Daya's car)

Daya was returning home from office . It was almost 9 PM . Daya usually called Amairaah at this time only to check on her. She used to finish her work, dinner and maximum of the chores at this time. When Daya stopped at the signal, he pulled out the phone from his pocket and dialled Amairaah's number. Amairaah didn't pick up . He tried again but still no response . After trying for about 4th time with no response , Daya called on their home's landline number . " Radhabai , Amairaah kahi gyi hai kya ? Fone nahi uthari hai mera !" Daya asked as Radhabai picked up the phone. " Haa Daya saab , Woh Dr. tarika ayi thi. Woh aur Amairaah bitiyaan movie dekhne gye hai !" Daya heaved a sigh of relief . He remembered that Tarika had asked both of them for the movie but they had declined . So she must have taken Amairaah instead . Daya proceeded on his way home. He was thinking about the day when he went to pick up Amairaah for her bday surprise. He thought that after the whole family thing explanation, Amairaah would confide in him. But she was still not ready. Yes that day he had told that he would discuss her issues someday but he hadn't spoken a word about that later . What to talk when she herself doesn't wanna participate. Maybe Abhiheet was right. Daya thought . Amairaah would never ever self realise the thing that she needs someone. Daya was himself unsure of giving her some more time or forcefully making her talk.

As he was thinking all this he reached home and parked his car. He opened the lock and stepped inside. As soon as he stepped inside he felt as if he stepped onto something. He hit the lights and he saw an envelope with a letter. Who would leave a letter like this , Daya thought. Maybe its his khabri giving him some message. He opened the envelope and found a letter . It read ,

" Hello Daya sir ,

Sorry I didn't have to courage to talk to you personally so I hope this letter would do the talking .

First of all I want to apologise for all the rude behavior and stunts I kept pulling uptill now. I want to apologize for the number of times you had to clear the mess that I had created. I am sorry .

And now the scarier part.

You always asked me to tell my problems , my fears my dreams to you . But here's a thing .

I don't know how to tell you about how broken I am. I don't know how to open up to someone without being judged because in the past years I wasn't used to doing that.

And now the scariest part.

The scariest part I thought was being alone being lonely . But it isn't . The scariest part is that I have completely lost myself god knows where . I wasn't a girl like this. And i dont wanna be like this more. I hope you understand what I meant. And besides somebody in the past 2 days told me that-"If you are ever lost , Daya's the best person to bring you back :-P" Please don't ask who said that otherwise that person will surely beat me up.

I know I have been annoying , I have been rude and sometines even irritating. I wasn't just a good person. And even in future there's a possibility of me throwing an angry , rude and irritated fit . But Even though I act stupid , I want you to stay behind me always . You are the one that had always got my back . And I sure don't want you leaving now.

All's said .

Your's ,

Amairaah.

Daya was shocked to read the letter . He was checking it checking the envelope if this was for real . He hadn't felt so contended ever. He was continuously staring at the letter . He took a seat on the couch and took deep breathes. Finally he Made Amairaah realise it. He was still silently thinking when he saw two feet behind the entrance door . Somebody was hiding in there . His lips curved into big smile . He knew it was Amairaah. Without making noise he went upto the door and moved it to reveal her . There she was standing with eyes closed and fingers crossed .

She looked beyond innocent in this stage . " Amu ..." Daya slowly called . He had never called her Amu uptill now . But today he did. Amairaah scarily opened her eyes . She saw Daya standing about 5 feet from her . Okay well this was not in her plan. Her plan was to drop the letter secretly and leave for her house as soon as possible. What was the purpose of the letter if she could wait to see the reaction of Daya . But these days things really turned upside down for her. And now , where her only objective was to avoid a person , that person was standing five feet from her . Great Amairaah great , she thought.

Amairaah had a look a Daya. She felt quite embarrassed but still she managed to look up into his eyes . Daya lovingly saw her . He opened his arms wide for her and without taking time her tiny figure collapsed into his large arms .

These were the people that Amairaah was supposed to hold on to . These were the moments that she would keep treasured in her heart forever . This was perfect . This was home . This was family.

And this was LIFE !!!

Daya seperated from her . He had a very contended smile . " Bohot jyada der laga di Amairaah apne ane me !! Hum toh dheere dheere asha hi chod rahe the abhi." Amairaah felt sorry for that and she lowered her face in guilt . Daya noticed this and he tapped her chin upwards and said , " No, none of that now !!" He kept his hands on her head. Daya knew that the environment had become a quite emotional one so to change it he said , " "Khana khaogi ? Bohot bura banata hu me" .Both of them laughed and They proceeded towards kitchen to fix something for their stomachs. Daya again asked , " Salad me kaunse vegetables pasand hai tumhe ?" Amairaah's eyes widened at the thought of eating salad for dinner. Daya understood. " What happened you never had a salad ?" Amairaah gave it a thought and said " I had it ones for dinner . It had tomatoes , olives , bell peppers and a lot of other vegetables on a really really nutritious whole wheat base." Daya raised his one eyebrow at that. Amairaah came to the point , " Fine ..Fine it was pizza . I ate a pizza but it had Vegetables on the top. Doesn't that count?" Daya laughed at that. He said , " Fine lets make your kind of salad." They decided to make some sandwiches. Daya forwarded 2 tomatoes to Amairaah for chopping and he himself started chopping the lettuce .

Amairaah was thinking something . He wanted to ask something to Daya but she was not sure whether she should ask it . She was still musing when she felt somebody take the knife out of her hand. It was Daya . " Are ruko na kaat ke toh de rahi thi." Daya took the tomatoes as well and started chopping himself. " Tamatar kaat rahi ya apne hath. Meri maa agar tumhari behen ne agar tumhe ek kharoch ke sath bhi dekh liya na toh usne mujhe kaat dena hai." Both of them dissolved in laughter . Daya continued making the dinner and Amairaah was stalling here and there. Finally she made up her mind to ask the question to Daya . " Daya sir , aapse ek baat puchu ?" Daya still engrossed in cooking replied with " Hmm" . " You had a lot of reasons to leave but still you chose to stay . What makes you do that ?" Daya was done making the sandwiches and he put two plates on the dining table accompanied with some ketchups. Daya took the first bite and said , " The reason is something even I want you to learn . You don't accept people's part. Either you love them wholly or you dont think about them at all. Shreya came into my life and soon I realised that she was incomplete without you. And when I accpeted you in my life I came to know that come with a package of demons with you. So how I could I say ki You can be with us only when you are happy and just get a room when your are sad. This is what Family is all about . No body gets left behind. You accept their perfections along with imperfections . And when time comes you choose family over everything or anything . You chose famile above yourself, You chose family over good ,evil , angels , devils. You choose family over God ." Amairaah was looking at Daya how thoughtfully he chose his words . They both had finished eating and Amairaah took the plates towards sink. She was washing them when suddenly Daya came to her side . "Chalo idhar aao mere sath ! " Daya said holding her hand and taking Amairaah towards her study . She was seeing his study for the first time . There was large table with documents arranged very neatly on them. A large black leather chair could be seen behind the table. Their were photoes of him with very close people of his on the wall . She saw the photo of Abhijeet , Acp sir . She even wondered if Shreya's photo occupied this wall. Daya took his seat and asked Amairaah to seat on comapritively light chair besides him. Daya looked into her eyes . Amairaah felt as if she was going to drown into the compassion and affection his eyes showed. " I know you are lost right now. You are young and you have no idea what to do . And this part it scares you and terrifies you. It turns you into something hateful . But I want to tell you that , to hate is an easy lasy thing . But to love the people around it takes a lot of courage .And even after everything that has happened , A lot has happened actually I want to tell you that A lot of life still remains . And right now I just want to you to try . Trying is more than enough for me. I am ready to help you through out. But before I sign up for such thing I want a complete confirmation from you that you are willing to fight it out too. I like to know that I am fighting for a warrior and not a deserter !"

Amairaah's pulsations increased . Her heart sank for the words the man sitting in front spoke . She had never realised how frozen she was untill this gaurdian angel came into her life and started melting the ice . Amairaah didn't know how to react. How thankful could she be. She lay their on the chair completely wonder struck . Her heart still beating so loud and so fast . The only thing that she could do was mutter " Thank you !" There were small tears forming in her eyes. She didn't want Daya to look at her like that so she lowered her face to wipe them. But when she was lowering her face it was catched by Daya . He wiped her tears with his thumbs and Amairaah stood their frozen. The silence was broken by Amairaah's fone. It was Radhabai . Daya took a look at the watched . Yeah it was quite late now . She needed to be home . He heard her on the call , " Haa radhabai bas aahi rahi hu ." Daya fetched his car keys to drop Amairaah home . Amairaah got up from the chair . Suddenly she saw something on the wall . It was the photo of Daya and shreya but it was not what surprised her . Besides that foto there was a picture of her and Daya . It was photo of the day when they both had tried cooking for Shreya and had made kitchen into a horrible mess. It was a candid shot. There was flour on their faces and clothes. They looked tired but were having a best time of life . Amairaah couldn't believe her eyes . Did she matter that much to Daya . That much that within a few months this guy had her photo framed in his house . " Its a nice photo right ?" Came Daya's voice from behind . Amairaah nodded with a smile . " Well you gotta accept that your sister has got mad photography skills ! Come on its getting late. Let's go !"

Amairaah was wondering what the car ride would be. What would they talk about ? But she didn't need to fear that . Daya was himself a very composed personality. He knew what to talk when to talk and what not to talk. So she left that part on him .

Both sath on the car . Amairaah placed her head on the window pane and stared at the moving city outside . It was her usual thing to do. " Movie kaise thi ?" Daya broke the silence . " Romantic thi !" Amairaah said with a scrunch . Daya laughed at that . They had a few light talks.

They reached the home . Amairaah stepped out of the car and was about to go towards the door when Daya stopped her . Amairaah thought that he must have stopped her to say goodbye . But instead What Daya said made her respect him even more . " Welcome Home Amairaah . Welcone back !" Saying that Daya left the place .

( In Amairaah's house)

Amairaah returned feeling happy. She had never felt such thing in so many days . She plopped on her bed and found the incomplete crossword on her bed from today's morning . She had answered only two questions. She picked it up and saw those .

1.the primitive human feeling that is a governing force of the world. -fear

2\. Something scary - love

Very quitely love and fear exchanged their places .

(Note)

Guys this note is to tell you that I have got Three very important papers lined up for next week . So next update me abhi friday ko kar paungi . Sorry for that .

Till then happy reading . !!


	15. Chapter 15

@Rishu - Well your wait is complete. Here's an update !! Thank you for the review :-)

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Chapter 15

Shreya stood in the corner of the balcony seeing the extraordinary view of the sunset. She saw how suddenly all the light was being swallowed and the world was engrossing in the darkness . In spite of the loss of color , there was a beauty in that moment. She stared into the vast horizon that showed hues of yellow orange and red . Shreya wondered if this same thing can be seen in her hometown also. God she missed that place . It was not even one week but she had started missing them . She missed the tantrums of Amairaah . She missed the stability in her life that Daya had bought. She missed the double dates with Abhijeet and Tarika .

" Saniya mam !" Somebody shouted from behind. Shreya didn't pay any attention. Afterall the person wasn't calling her .

" Saniya mam!" Came the voice again. She turned around to see who it was . The lady spoke , " Mam aapko Sir cabin me bula rahr hai ." And then it dawned upon her about the fake identity she was using . It was an undercover mission. So no Shreya . Its Saniya she thought. She wasn't even allowed to carry her cell phone and other identity proofs . All were safely deposited in the bereau . So no calls to her family members and no calls from them . Shreya came back to reality and walked with the other lady towards the cabin.

( Amairaah's house)

Amairaah was reading her book. A warm brewed coffee was kept infront of her . She was so engrossed in her studies that she hadn't even looked up once since the start . Radhabai came near her and slightly opened the window curtains behind Amairaah . As soon as She opened the window curtains a blast of orange light came inside the living room . A smile crept on Amairaah's face. She loved these moments. The moments of sunsets , dawns, the sky just before the rains and the silence just after the storms. Amairaah got up from the chair and went towards the window to look at the sky . And my god ,It was beautiful. There were gold flecks scattered in the lavender horizon. The sun was seen in the corner . It done for the day . Something amused her suddenly. She looked back at the house . It was unusually quite . Of course everybody was there Radhabai , Dattu and she but there was this undeniable silence. Amairaah looked back at the house. She then realised the cause of this silence. In the eveing it was both of the girls return time and then Shreya's blabbering for how the day went . She smiled at that realisation . She missed Shreya. Amairaah hoped that she is fine. She closed the window and got inside . " Radhabai , Me thodi der aram kar rahi hu. ek dedh ghante me khana khane ajaungi niche." Amairaah said to Radhabai . She wondered if she should call Daya for dinner . Tarika had told her that again some very important case was reported in the bereau and the two guys had lost their sleep, appetite and everything. Amairaah reached her room and all of a sudden even at this very unusual time sleep overpowered her. Guess she was just too tired.

After about one hour Amairaah's sleep was broken by the vibrations of the phone . The first call went unanswered as she was too sleepy to answer it. Before another minute she felt the vibrations for the second time . She searched for the phone in between the blankets and below the cushions . Finally after a lot of effort she found it and without even looking at screen she answered the phone. " All ok ?" Came the question from the other end . " Huh!" was the only thing Amairaah could answer . She took the phone away from the ear to check the caller id. Of course ! She thought . "Hello ..Amairaah..??" Amairaah got herself together and finally said , " Haa Daya sir , hello !" Daya heaved a sigh of relief , " Itta der kyu laga answer karne ko ?" Amairaah replied , " Sir woh so rahi thi toh..." Daya smiled ," So rahi thi woh bhi iss waqt , Tabiyat toh thik hai na ?" Amairaah assured him everything was fine and there is nothing to worry about . But before disconnecting the call , Daya said , " Are Amairaah , suno . Kal subah wahape ara hu 6 bje. Jogging karne jayenge !" Amairaah replied , " Sir jogging wagre thik hai lekin 6 bje kaun uthega !" Daya laughed at that and said , " Tum ! Chalo jao ab khana khalo! Kal milte hai !"

Amairaah was shocked " Sir 6 bje , sir meri baat suno !" But alas no one paid heed to the poor girl's plea . Amairaah facepalmed herself and just hoped if she were to get up for jogging at 6 in the morning then the morning should never dawn ! She freshened up a little and proceeded downwards for the dinner.

The remaining night of the time went by in a jiffy and it was again time for Amairaah to reitre to her bed. Amairaah took one of the sleeping pills and drank little amount of water. She still had the nightmares not everyday but they pop out suddenly from nowhere . So why take the risk she thought. This topic would surely come up during discussion with Daya , Amairaah knew that . But for now she didn't want to think about that. Jab puchenge tab dekhenge .She closed the door and switched off the lights.

( In the morning)

Amairaah was fast asleep. Daya very slowly entered the room . He knew that Amairaah would be asleep. Without making any noise of his legs he sat on the chair opposite to Amairaah's bed and looked at Amairaah. Amairaah was curled up like anything . To Daya she appreared as a burrito but just made of blankets. Daya always liked the calmness and serenity on her face when Amairaah was asleep. She looked angelic. Very lovingly Daya brought his fingers and moved away some hairs from Amairaah's face . " Amairaah !! Come on 6 bj gye . Hume jogging ke liye jana tha !" Amairaah was still unresponsive . Daya then carresed her head with his hand and again called out for her . " Uuummm" Was all that Amairaah could say . Saying that she turned her face on the other side of bed. Daya laughed at her childish theatrics . Daya sat on the bed and pulled off the blanket of her face. " Amairaah chalo jaldi utho. Fir tumhe bhi college jana aur mujhe bhi duty pe." Amairaah took 2 mins to think about it but then covered herself with the blanket again. As soon as Amairaah covered herself with the blanket the next moment she knew that she was being carried on someone's shoulder . Daya had just hoisted Amairaah on his shoulder and was proceeding towards the shower area. He said , " Amairaah me shower shuru kar dunga fir ye mat kehna ki warn nahi kiya tha karke !" Amairaah quickly opened her eyes and said ," Sorry sir , Sorry Daya sir please niche utariye. And shower mat shuru kijiye . Me 5 min me fresh hoke ati hu !" But Daya still didn't put her down. He again asked , " Niche utarunga toh firse so nahi jana !" Amairaah still very scared said , " Pakka promise , aap utaro toh niche !" Daya put Amairaah on the bed back on her feet again. " Daya sir , Itte jaldi murge bhi nahi uthate honge !" Daya just understood that maybe Amairaah was a night owl . But still he said , " Amairaah bachpana bohot ho gya ! Jao jake fresh ho jao me niche wait kar raha hu !" Very Very unwillingly Amairaah made her march towards the washroom.

After about 20 mins Amairaah was ready and came downwards. She saw Daya reading the newspaper. Daya came to know about the arrival of Amairaah by his sharp instincts only ! But still just to tease her Daya continued to read the newspaper. Amairaah cleared her throat just to make Daya aware about her presence but even now Daya didn't respond. He was hiding his face behind the newspaper ." Daya, sir . Chale !" Amairaah finally said . Daya smiled behind the paper but then put on his straight forward face. " Haa chalo he said !" Daya got up from his seat with full enthusiasm. And Amairaah stood there looking at him . How can somebody be so excited and that to in the early morning.

Daya took both of them to beach . Amairaah was hesitant. " Beach pe kyu ?" Amairaah asked . " Kyu ki jogging krte time niche ki jameen jitti soft ho sake utta achcha !"" Daya replied. They ran across the beach for about half and hour when Amairaah started having breathlessness. " Chalo thodi baithate hai !" Daya said to Amairaah. " Are its okay I am fine !" Amairaah replied. " Yes Miss fine , Even though you are fine Hum baithenge !"

They both selected a spot and sat there when Daya's phone rang. Daya got up to answer his call and Amairaah was sitting there alone. It was the same beach from where the police force had rescued her ! She didn't tell Daya about that . Beaches were fine at some point. But this beach , it brought the storme out of her. She had a look back and saw Daya. Daya was quite far away from her and was still busy in his phone . Suddenly What came into Amairaah's mind even she didn't know . She got up from her place and went towards the water.

Amairaah stood there . The water touched her feet. It felt like she met someone old . She stared into the vast horizons across the sea. The sea was calm but still it made Amairaah's heart turn into knots. This was the place that had defeated her. The place thay had knocked her down , The place that had broken her.

Yet here she was staring at it in the face.

Suddenly Amairaah heard a wide variety of sounds playing in her mind. She heard a gun shot , the laughter of the man . And then the most heart breaking sound. She heard her father calling her. She covered her both ears with her hands and closed her eyes. Amairaah's heart beat increased. Perhaps coming so near the water was not such a good idea . Amairaah took a turn backwards but another wave hit her legs . She turned back and deeply inhaled and exhaled her fears.

The sun had risen fully. As the light of the sun was intensifying there was an increase in Amairaah's misery. And she didn't knew why did it hurt so much when absolutely nothing was wrong except the place. She took one last deep breathe and finally turned around from that thing !

Amairaah again sat on the the land far away from the water . She looked here and there to search for Daya , he was still busy on the phone .But just after a few seconds she saw him walking towards the place. She tidied herself up a little bit. She didn't want Daya to read her face again.

" Juice !" Daya came put the glass in front of her. Amairaah smiled . But her smiled vanished away when she saw the color of the juice. It was green in color. Hesitatingly she took the glass in her hands and smelled it. It smelled weird . " What flavour is this ?" Amairaah asked. Daya replied " Spinach basil with some zest of orange " Amairaah gulped the fear . " Aisa juice actual me milta hai ?" Amairaah asked. Daya laughingly said , " Nahi , Woh juice wala dekh rahi ho . Its custom made for me by him ! Come on ! give it a try. Itta bhi bura nahi hai !" Amairaah took a sip and it was horrible. But she had to finish it so closing her nose with one hand she gulped down the whole juice in one go.

Daya was impressed . He took a seat . He wanted to ask some questions to Amairaah but before he could speak Amairaah said , " Daya sir , please ghar chalenge. Mujhe yaha nahi baithna." Daya was confused as to what happened all of a sudden. He looked towards Amairaah.

Amairaah was sitting hugging her knees all of a sudden while watching into nothing but emptiness. Her skin was too shiny showing an evidence of cold sweat . Yes they had been running but Amairaah was sitting for the past 15-20 mins. Daya then looked at her hands . They were constantly working back and forth over some healed scar on her legs.

Daya couldn't believe his eyes. Everything was normal uptill now . They were even having fun but suddenly Amairaah appeared to be scared as hell . Daya ran his hands on her head and asked , " Kya hua Amairaah? Itti ghabrayi hui kyu lag rahi ho?" Daya had even kept an eye on her while he was away .Nobody had come near Amairaah . The only things that Amairaah did was walk near the waters.

Amairaah felt guilty . She didn't want to ruin the morning for Daya and she tried but it was just her cup of tea .

She felt as if the memories were choking her making her difficult to breathe. All she wanted to do was to be alone and curl up on her bed. A choked cry came from her mouth " Plz ...lets go" She also felt a wet drop running down her cheeks.

Before the situation turns any worse , Daya decided toh take her home. " Yeah come one. Lets go!" Daya took the jacket of Amairaah that she had kept on the rock. He opened the zipper and helped Amairaah to get into it. As soon as she was done wearing it they both left the place.

Daya opened the car door for Amairaah and he sat from the opposite door. He passed on the water bottle to her . Amairaah declined saying its not needed. Daya forced her to drink the water . Amairaah drank some sips and took some deep breathes . She felt better . She rested her head on the seat .

Embarrassment creeped all over her face . " I am sorry Daya sir ! I am really very very sorry ! " Daya was still looking at her quite not understanding . " Kya hua Amairaah ?" He asked. " Its just.. just I couldn't breathe in there !" Daya asked concernly that if she was fine now and Amairaah replied that she was okay.

But Daya was quite sure about one thing. Amairaah was not fine. She was still grasping for air. He just now understood what the problem was. He took Amairaah's both hands in his large palms and said , " Amairaah ! Look at me." Amairaah didn't cooperate , she was still struggling to get her breathe stabilised . " Amairaah , Idhar dekho !" Daya said a little sternly this time . Amairaah looked at him out of scare. " Inhale.." Daya said taking a deep breathe . Amairrah was still confused. " Come on do as I say and follow my actions ! Inhale..." Daya said again. Both of them Inhaled a large amount of air. "Exhale..." Daya ordered again. Amairaah followed . "Inhale.." Daya again said after few seconds . This went on for a little bit time untill Daya was convinced that Amairaah was doing fine now. He had a good look at her . Her eyes were still closed. She was still scacred he could say that . But none the less she was at least breathing properly . " Amairaah .. Are you feeling okay now ?" Daya asked . Amairaah nodded her head without opening her eyes ." Akhe kholo. Akhe band mat rakho !" Daya ordered. Amairaah opened her eyes very slowly. She couldn't see the sea and the waters anywhere now . She felt contended. " Do you frequently have them ?" Daya asked.Amairaah didn't get the question."Do you frequently have panic attacks ? Cause this was the first one I witnessed !" Amairaah nodded negativelyand said " I never had them. " Daya took a deep breathe and said , " Congrats you witneesed your first panic attack then. So here's what you are gonna do. I am going to out for 5 mins." Amairaah shuddered at that thought. She didn't want to be alone . It scared the crap out of her. Daya pacified her. " Listen.. Listen you don't have to be scared. I am just going to go out . Give the money to the juice vendor I will be here in close proximity only . Your breathing has normalised. So you are just going to get yourself together .Okay??" Amairaah was still not convinced. " And if somethibg still scares you , What did I teach you now ?" Amairaah answered , " Inhale and exhale." Daya caressed her cheek and said , " Good girl ! I will be right back in 5 minutes okay ?" Amairaah nodded and Daya left.

Amairaah wondered about the what had exactly happened in the last 15 minutes. She never had panic attacks uptill now. And she definitely didn't need more such problems now . There was already enough to deal to with. Every day was getting worse for her mentally . Every thought was a battle . Every breathe was a war and Amairaah was pretty sure she wasn't winning anywhere .Amairaah brought her legs upwards and folded them. She again hugged her knees and curled into a very vulnerable ball. She rested her head on the window pane and closed the eyes. Amairaah just didn't want to think about anything now.

Daya came back and opened the door. He saw the way Amairaah was sitting . And his heart broke for that. Even today in the morning when he saw her sleeping in a curled up position he was a bit worried inside . Amairaah was usually a straight sleeper utilizing the mattress as much as she can . But seeing her like this made him think she needed some comfort which she was too shy or too embarrassed to ask about. Something was worrying her very deeply and eating her brains out . He definitely will have to address this issue of her. He made a mental note to talk about that today evening only . He didn't want to delay it more. He sat inside the car and even that didn't make Amairaah open her eyes. Her eyes only opened at the sudden large sound of door closing." Chale ??" Daya asked and Amairaah replied positively. She just wanted to get out of that place as soon as possible .

They both reached Amairaah's home. Daya asked her if she was fine enough to attend the college . Amairaah said that she was okay now. Daya didn't asked her about the evening plans he was making . Daya was quite sure that if he tells now she was sure to overthink it her whole day and have a very fussy and arrogant attitude in the evening . He had decided to take her by surprise. They bid their goodbyes and both went their ways for the work.

Amairaah went into her room. She directly got into the shower She had very less time left for the college. Within half an hour she was done and downstairs for the breakfast. She hurried herself and left for college.

(Afternoon)

It was a slow day at college . And basically there were not much sick people around. So just some work here and there and remaining time - just do what you want. And actually she had some entertainment . She was constantly getting a call from wrong number. She even thought of playing a game with that man on the phone but she controlled herself.

Amairaah had just finished one dressing and again she was back to doing nothing. She sat on the chair and drank some water. Her phone vibrated again. God this man!! she thought . She took out the phone and directly said into it , " Are bhai , ye kisi Abdul ka number nahi hai. kitti baar samjhana padega tumko." She was about to disconnect the call when she heard " Kya ?" . Hold on she knows that voice. She checked the screen and literally bit her tongue. " Daya sir , Sorry ye kisi Abdul ka number nahi hai !" Amairaah turned red in embarrassment. What was she saying. " Tumhara dimag toh thikane pe hai na Amairaah ?" Daya asked . " Haa haa sir sab normal hai !" Amairaah replied. Daya just told her that he was going to be early today so they could have dinner at his house. Amairaah agreed. She had started feeling comfortable around him now. That was great step. At least she was not avoiding him.

The rest of the day went in a jiffy and Amairaah returned home. She had some sleep in the evening. The work used to tire her more now a days. The time passed so quickly she didn't even realize that it was time to go to Daya's house. She quickly got ready in simple clothes and told Radhabai that she was leaving.

( Daya's house)

Amairaah parked the car. She just prayed that Daya doesn't serve her the salad for dinner. She was quite hungry now and salad would never satisfy that. She made her way towards the door and pushed the bell button. In no time Daya opened the door but he was on a call. He signelled her to cone inside and sit. Amairaah followed. Daya told her that he would be there in 5 mins and continued with his calls. Amairaah busied herself reading the magazines on the coffee table. After about 5 minutes Daya came and they proceeded towards the kitchen. Amairaah arranged the plates and both of them started serving the food. " Ye abdul kaun hai?" Daya asked suddenly . Amairaah laughed at that. She told him about the wrong numbers. Daya went on to slice some carrots. He put 3 slices in Amairaah's plate and 5 in his. " Me gajar nahi khati. I dont like them !" Daya took one slice from her plate and transferred it to his and said , " Ek kam kiya 2 Khanna pdega !" Amairaah found it a very difficult task to finish those two slices. They had their dinner in peace. After Dinner, Daya again received some call and he went to answer them. Amairaah started filling the water bottles and keeping them in the refrigerator . She had imbibed some good habits from her sister. And besides she never felt like a guest at Daya's house. She treated this as one of her own and so she was working. She also put all the remaining food in the fridge and cleaned the table. " Amairaah ! Tumhara hone ke baad join me in the study !" Amairaah heard the voice of Daya . She wondered what he wanted to talk about at this hour of night. She just hurried and put the waste in the dustbin washed her hands and proceeded towards the study.

Amairaah reached the study . Although it was not necessary , Amairaah still asked permission ," May I come in Daya sir ?" Daya was sitting on the large black leather chair reading something on his laptop. Hearing Amairaah's voice he smiled and said ," Are of course Aao baitho !" Daya motioned his hand to show show Amairaah the chair . It was on the other side of the table. " Kya hua sir ? kya baat karni hai ?" Amairaah asked. She was a bit nervous. She rubbed her sweaty palms on her jeans as she asked that. Daya sensed her nervousness and said , " Aree itta kya nervous hona kuch serious baat nahi hai !" Amairaah relaxed a bit. Sensing Amairaah's relaxation Daya continued . " Toh Amairaah, aaj subah kya hua tha . I wanna know about that ?" Amairaah now understood what he wanted to talk about . But she was confused from exactly where to start ." I know its difficult to explain. Ek kaam karte hai me sawal puchta hu tum jawab do." Amairaah really admired this man's ability to read mind. "And Amairaah , I expect honest answers With no attitude, tantrums and arrogant theatrics .Okay ?" Daya asked . Amairaah replied affirmatively. " So, kal raat maine tumhe call kiya tha ki hum jogging jayenge . Tab apart from all that ki subah uthna nahi hoga aur koi problem thi tumko ?" Daya asked his first question .Amairaah nooded in a No. " Hum aaj subah jogging ke liye nikle. You appeared quite normal . And jogging karte time bhi you were not bothered right ?" Amairaah said , " I was slightly scared Sir ! Its just I didn't let you know. I just didn't want to spoil your programme !" Daya made a mental noting for the first point . He further asked , " Kis baat ka darr lagra tha Amairaah ? Waha darne layak kuch nahi tha!" Daya asked ." Sir , woh beach..." Amairaah voice was growing low by the moment . " Woh beach pe kya tha Amairaah ?" Amairaah just didn't want to answer that questions. Tears had already started forming in her eyes . She looked at the side outside the window. She just turned her gaze from Daya. This was her most vulnerable point. With his strong hands Daya very carefully held her chin and made her face towards himself back again. " Kya hua ? Kis baat ka dar laga ?" Amairaah took a deep breathe and closed her eyes . She started saying , " That was the area sir , from where the police forces had rescued me. It was the same beach where we were held captive in a boat." Amairaah was crying as she spoke every word." That was sea where... where the they...they killed Baba." Amairaah had still closed her eyes. She was crying profusely . The tears burst forth like a water from a dam spilling down from her face. The muscles of her chin trembled to speak another word. And it was true . She couldn't speak another word. Daya held her hand to give her some assurance . He hoped that it would soothe her. But it didn't. Salty tears were still dripping from her eyes making her shirt wet. She bought her two hands up and pushed her face into them. Why can't she stop crying Amairaah thought.

In no moment she felt being carried by someone.Daya lifted Amaitaah and transferred her on the couch.It was more relaxing than the chairs. Daya tried to take off her hands from her face. But she refused . " Amairaah look at me !" He tried again for the second time and this time they came off easy ! Daya looked at her in the eyes and brought her closer .

Amairaah sobbed into his chest unceasingly. Her hands clutched his shirt . Daya held her silently rocking her slowly as her tears soaked his chest. In between a tiny lapse Amairaah pulled away . She blinked with her heavy lashes due to tears and collapsed again. Daya didn't stop her . This is what he wanted . He wanted to get her emotions out and from the first day itself he knew it was going to be a long journey. He held her tightly , and whispered soothing words in her ears . " Let it all out Amairaah !! I am always here for you !" He whispered into her ears again and again. Amairaah's crying came in waves . First waves of crying and them some waves of recovering breathes. And after that again she latched into his outstrected arms.

Amairaah felt comforting arms around her while she sobbed . " Sshh. Let it all out here. I have got you. You are safe here." Daya whispered again.

Amairaah's sobs eventually softened. But Daya's hold on Amairaah tightened more. With one hand he comfortably began to rub her back and his other hand started to brush away her tears. Amairaah again closed her eyes and leaned into his comforting embrace. When Daya removed his one hand , Amairaah quitely whimpered. But immediately she felt his hand rub the back of her head. Amairaah still had burrowed her head in the crook of his neck inhaling his comforting scent.

Amairaah was tired . All she wanted to do now was just sleep. But she had to be home for that. She started to free herself from Daya's embrace and Daya didn't loosen her hold from her. After some time Amairaah gave up. " Sshh little girl ! You are hurt and tired ! You should rest now !" But then Amairaah remembered about her sleeping pills. She needed to take them. Sensing her resistance Daya said , " Enough Amairaah !Just close your eyes. You are safe here !" Hearing the sincerity in his voice , Amairaah finally gave in. " Sleep well Amairaah ! Good night" Daya said as he planted a kiss on her forehead. And instantly Amairaah was asleep.

Even after Anairaah had fallen asleep he continued to hold her . For the fear that if she wakes up and finds nobody in the room . Daya was heart broken on seeing the condition of Amairaah. He literally breathed a heavy sigh. He wanted to discuss some things with Amairaah but he decided that it was not the time today. Amairaah had cried for quite a long time and crying makes you tired. He looked at his sister once more . Her eyes were swollen completely. There were marks of tears on her face. God this girl needed help and she needed it now.

After some time Daya sensed that Amairaah was in deep sleep. So he decided to move her up to the guest bedroom very carefully.

He lifted her up very easily and went on the first floor. He opened the door to his guest bedroom and placed Amairaah carefully on the bed. Daya knew that she might be a little uncomfortable waking up in a different house in the morning. But he just couldn't leave her alone after he saw her today's condition. He covered her in soft blankets and switched on the Air conditioner. Having one final look at her he put out the lights and closed the door.


	16. Chapter 16

@Rishu : Hope your bad days must have resolved by now and if not don't worry. Sab kuch thik ho jayga. Here's another chapter to make you feel better.

@Aditi : Well wisher ka zindagi me hona bohit jaruri hai. Thankfully I found the one in you from the day I started my journey in fanfiction.

@Apurva : Actually its one of my favorite lines too. Kaise sujhi kab sujhi pata nahi. Bas flow flow me likh di ! Thank you for such a unique review.

@Sakshi : Nahi nahi baba hum koi psychologist nahi. Although I admire psychologists - Psychology padhna mere bas ki baat nahi. Thank you for the compliment though. Btw sorry sakshi thode late ho rahe updates. Bas ek hi paper baki hai pediatrics ka. Woh kal ho jayga toh pakkese early updates !

@Anonymus : Thank you

@laksara : Last time aapka naam nahi aya toh aisa laga ki aapko chapter hi pasand nahi aya !! But thank you for always standing by my side. Dareya ka dose thoda badha diya hai. Kaisa laga batana ! And yes I have given my exams well only one paler remaining.

@Mystiques : I feel so happy that the reader is exactly able to imagine things as i want him to imagine. Thank you for appreciating that.

@Sunshines : Agar pura chapter depressing sa bana diya toh kitna bore hoga na isiliye bich bich me daalte rehti hu jo kuch sujha woh . Thank you for a different pov.

@Reviewer : Thank you.

@Guest : Thank you.

@Srikant : Lijiye agya aapka dareya scene. Woh ittusa scene sochne k liye puri raat lag gyi. Pata nahi kyu !! Hope you like it.

@Guest : Thank you. Mujhe ekdum cheesy moments pasand nahi . Thank you for noticing that.

Chapter 16

It was almost 1 AM. The night sky was quite clear with mininal clouds. If one was to tilt his or her head upwards towards the sky they would surely see millions of stars brilliantly shining across the black canvas. The moon light was moderately okay. Not much like a full moon and not completely absent like new moon. The silence could be felt every second. The wind was there but just enough to make one person aware of its presence. It caused slight rustling of the dried leaves. It was time for most of the people to sleep. But here was Daya sitting on the terrace on a lounge chair. He was seen wearing his reading specks and with a book in his hand. He was reading a book under his terrace light peacefully.

It was regular for Daya to be awake at this hour of night. He would usually read books or do research on his laptop at this time. Only one thing remained the same. Whatever he used to do , it would be on the terrace in open air. He just loved the smell of the silence that the night presented. At first this unusually odd hours worried Abhijeet and Rahul . They even thought of treating him for insomnia. But Daya had finally managed to convince both of them that this was his normal sleep cycle. He just required less hours of sleep to function normally.

Daya picked up his black coffee whose mug was on the table besides the chair. He took a sip of it and squinted his eyes. It was too bitter. Actually it was how he used to make it but Shreya had started adding the sweet component to his coffee . And guess what, now he was used to that ! As Daya placed the mug back on the table , there was a smile on his face.

(Flash back)

It was past midnight. Amairaah had fallen asleep. Shreya was reading a book just besides her. She wanted to experiment Daya's lifestyle. Although she wasn't looking that successful at this because she was continuously yawning for the last half an hour. Shreya was about to accept defeat but then suddenly her phone vibrated. The message read , " Open the door." Shreya blushed reading the message. Her lips automatically curved into a smile. She switched off the table lamp and carefully without making any noise went down stairs. But before opening the door she decided to play with the person !

Shreya hid the excitement on her face and put on a sleepy face with eyes that opened barely ! She opened the door and found the person standing with his back face facing towards the door. As soon as the person heard the latche of the door being opened he turned around with two take away cups of coffee. Very excitedly he said , " Hi !" . But shreya in her playfull mode rubbed her eyes with one hand and sheepishly said , " Daya , itti raat me why ?" The excitement on the Daya's face completely vanished . His face just became like kid who was refused a chocolate. Daya said ," Why not ?" Shreya couldn't controll her laughter at Daya's expression. She was laughing uncontrollably untill she realised that her voice would wake up Amairaah. But this was not that made her stop her laughing. Suddenly Shreya felt being held by waist and in no moments she was locked in between the wall and Daya.

Shreya admired the perfectly sculpted body of Daya . His eyes that always showed what he said . His perfectly beautiful jawline . The Adam's apple that showed his perfect masculinity. He had folded his sleeves into half that added an amother dimension of handsomeness which was already abundant due to well maintained musular body. This man could literally end someone's life in seconds and yet he chose to live the other way round. He decided to be the saviour of the world. " Even I can surprise you Miss Sharma ! " Shreya's heart raced . Boom..boom..boom..boom..She felt as if Daya was going to hear it now. " Abhi tak toh maine kuch bhi nahi kiya ! Fir bhi tumhare dil ki ye halat hai !" Daya's face came near her temple area and then near her ears. Her heart raced even more. " Do you wanna play more games ?" Daya asked with a deep masculine voice. Shreya blushed to the roots of her hair. She had butterflies in her stomach. She had never been so close any men . This was new to her. Shreya looked down in embarrassment. And coming out of the zone Daya freed her from his tight hold. Shreya grasped for breath. " Woh mujhe laga ki tum jagi hongi..toh me coffee leke aya !" Daya said. Shreya smiled ." Aapko kaise pata ki me soyi nahi thi ! . Daya raised his both eyebrows and acted as if he was thinking ." Intuitions !" Shreya smiled and took both the cups of coffee from his hand and asked Daya to proceed towards the terrace. Shreya knew that he liked to spend this time in the open air so without even asking permission she told him to go upwards . " Amairaah so gyi ?" Daya asked. " Haa gehri nind me hai ! Uske kamre ke samne se aram se jana. Nind khul jaygi nahi toh uski !" Shreya replied.Daya nodded with a smile and proceeded upwards. That night they had sat there talking almost for 2 hours. What exactly happened to him when he was with Shreya..even Daya didn't knew that. He smiled a little bit more. Though he slept for very less time he slept peacefully.He had found someone where he could vocalize about his insecurities. Uptill now apart from his life during his duty he just existed and now he had learned to live...

(Present)

Daya smiled as he remembered the moments he had spent with Shreya. He missed her being besides him drinking coffee. Just a few more days he thought. He removed his specks and bookmarked the current page he was reading and decided to retire to his bed . On his way he kept his book back on the table in his study, checked all the doors and windows of his house and last but not the least he had a peep inside Amairaah's room. She appeared peacefully asleep. Within no time of landing on the bed , Daya was carried away in the land of sleep !

(Morning)

" Beep..beep...beep...beep" Amairaah woke up to the irritating sound of alarm. She opened her heavy eyelids and managed to shut out the device and sleep again. But again after 5 minutes the sound came. This time she had no option but to get up . She took a deep breathe and got up. Daya Sir must have placed the alarm clock she thought. Amairaah hadn't forgotten about the last night. She cleary remembered how she had broken down completely just on the mention of her parents. But above all that she remembered how Daya had handled her.

Her thought process was broken when she saw the time in alarm clock. It was 8:10. Means she had exactly 50 minutes to drive home , get ready for the college and be there. She hurried herself. She placed the blanket properly in the original position straightened the pillows and the bedsheets. She wondered if Daya was at home. She searched for the mobile. It was carefully placed inside the drawer adjoining the bed. She opened it to find text messages from Daya. It read -

1\. Maine alarm toh lagake rakha tha hope you wake up by 8.

2\. Thoda fresh hoke niche fridge me sandwiches and dudh rakha hai tayar karke. Have a proper breakfast here only. Ghar jane ke baad nahi karogi pata hai !

3\. Doodh pura khatam hona chahiye and agar ek bhi salad ka slice dustbin me dikha toh tumhari khair nahi.

4\. Aur please Alas ke mare sab thanda mat khana. Please warm it up a little bit in the oven.

5\. Ghar lock karke chabi kaha rakhni hai ye toh tumhe pata hi hai !

A smile was continuously seen as Amairaah read the message. She started to follow the instructions point by point. After she was done having the breakfast she locked the door, kept the key below the mud pot and left.

( In the college )

Amairaah , Lakshya and Ehsaan were waiting for Kavya at lunch. Thery were all too hungry to wait but still they chose to not to start their lunch. They were all engrossed in talking when suddenly Kavya came and banged all her things on the table. She looked irritated and frustrated. " He is a brain surgeon. How can he be brainless ?" All four of them dissolved in laughter . Apparently some senior guy was giving her a very hard time. They finally started having their lunch . " Wanna catch up for a movie tomorrow guys ?" Kavya asked. And in the next 5 minutes the plan was made .

The lunch time was over and everybody proceeded towards their respective departments.

Amairaah was thinking about the other night. She thanked God for she didn't have any nightmares at night. Amairaah noticed that her second half was quite free so she decided to search up something. Something she wanted to search from yesterday. She got in the room and took out her laptop. While doing this she checked the time on the wall clock.

Amairaah opened the laptop and typed something on Google. Within seconds she started reading some article. The article's name was ' PANIC ATTACK'. She read and read all the information she could get. One of the articles read -

" Something is always needed to trigger a panic attack. The trigger may be sounds , smells , action ,people , places ,memories or the thoughts about a trauma that happened years ago just coming in the forefront.

Besides dissociation and flash backs these triggers can cause a lot of other effects. Some are intense fear and anxiety, disorientation , rage , anger , irritability , denial , erratic/dramatic mood swings , obsessive worrying , intrusive thoughts , feeling out of controll , isolation etc ! "

Amairaah sighed and rested herself on the back of chair. She continued staring that screen. Daya was right. She had suffered from a panic attack. Just one more little problem to add to a big list of problems.

Amairaah didn't realise for how much time she had been sitting like this untill somebody just popped inside the room " Oye ?? Where are you ? Kabse parking me intezaar kar rahi hu !" Kavya said to Amairaah. Amairaah then looked at the time and it was around 6 in the evening. It was already way past her time, so she packed her belongings and left for home.

( Night )

Amairaah's mind was still wandering. Why all of a sudden she had a panjc attack. Yes she always thought about past memories but she never got scared.. Maybe it was just a one time appearance and may be its not even a panic attack. Her thoughts overpowered her sleep. Today she didn't even take the pills. She wanted to be awake. She wanted to think about this .

It was 12:30 in the night. Amairaah was continuously tossing and turning on the bed. Irritatingly she got up and sat at the side of window. She opened the window just a little. It was pitch black outside.

Sitting there for 5 minutes , Amaiaah suddenly got up took her car keys from the drawer and making very less noise came outside the house. She opened the garage door and sat inside the car. Amairaah thought for some time but she wanted to do this. She started the engine and exited the house.

(After 20 minutes )

Amairaah knew better. But she did it anyway. She knew this wasn't going to make things better probably even worsen them but here she was sitting alone in the night inside the car. This time she had parked the car a little away from beach. She could see the waters but she was not on the sand.

Amairaah came out of the car. She looked around to see if anybody was there. No - not a single soul around. This was quite a secluded area of the beach.

She was wearing an old faded jeans with a grey colored baggy shirt . By the looks of her she didn't have a look at herself before leaving the mirror. Though it was not cold outside she was wearing an oversized black leather jacket.

Maybe all the cold, all the winters where present within.

Amairaah untied the shoelaces and sat the hood of her car.

She stared into the vast sea...unbounded and unstopped in every direction. The only casing it had was that of sky above. The sky that was pitch black some time ago showed lazily drifting grey colored clouds. It appeared as thought the sky was a great grey colored blanket. Nobody could tell where the grey sea ended and the grey clouds began.

Amairaah was slight uncomfortable but at least she was satisfied. She was not panicking and maybe the things that happened one day ago were nothing more than a one time appearance.

The sea that was calm untill suddenly turned into a malevolent being. Huge waves crashed at the land. Thunder cried out from the sky and Amairaah shuddered at the sound. She grinded her teeth in fear .

Maybe it was not such a good idea to come here - Amairaah thought. But she continued to sit there staring into nothing as if she was searching for someone or something. Something she had lost years ago.

The light in front of her flickered maybe because of the thunderstorm. Amairaah closed ger eyes in order to feel relaxed.

Amairaah was quite confident that before closing her eyes she was sitting on the hood of the car. But now she felt as if she was on the sea. There was a vague sense of familarity in that moment. She knew this had happened before and she could predict her next move a millisecond before it happened. She was living inside the movement which had already been lived. No No No - I need to get out of here - Amairaah thought. Her chest tightened and she couldn't get enough of air. She shockingly opened her eyes to confirm that she was on the land and not the sea. Her mind screamed mentally but physically it just appeared as a strangled cry. Her skin became pale and her eyes popped out like a fashioned toy doll. A bead of cold sweat trickled down her back and she started having a panic attack.

Amairaah body jarred with every passing moment. The panic or the fear seared away through her skin and suddenly took all the feeling of safety she ever had. There was a shortage of breathe. Amairaah was breathing but it looked like her lungs couldn't take in the air . She felt like they were tied with metal bands. Amairaah knew that just simple inhaling and exhaling would make her normal but- was it that difficult. She was still trying when suddenly she felt somebody hold her tightly by the shoulder. Amairaah's fear increased. Who was there at this hour of night . She turned her face to see the person .

He came forwards sitting just besides Amairaah and inhaling deeply. Amairaah was astonished . She was desperately trying to connect the dots. She saw the person staring in the sea.

When he came to know that Amairaah wasn't following , that person looked sideways and gave his compassionate smile. He raised his eyebrows at Amairaah asking her to follow his breathing patterns. Amairaah followed him and soon after that her breathing normalized . Daya again saved the day for her or should we say the night.

After Daya was confident that Amairaah was alright he brought his one hand infront of her . Amairaah was still connecting the dots when suddenly she saw Daya's hand offering her coffee. " Coffee ? Woh bhi iss time pe ?" Amairaah asked taking the polystyrene cup in her hands. " I was making some for myself when Radhabai called !". Daya said taking a sip fron his own cup. Now everything felled into place for Amairaah. Radhabai must have got scared not seeing her in the room and might have called Daya ! Without looking at her Daya put his hand in Amairaah head and moved it playfully. " Some serious trouble maker you are !" Daya said doing that. " Ghar pe kitte log pareshan hai pata hai !" Daya continued. Amairaah's tongue stuck out at that. " I guess we should leave !" Amairaah said getting down from the hood. But before she could completely stand up Daya stopped her by his large hands and and without saying any word he motioned her to sit back. They both sat and looked at the sea as they finished their coffees. The sea had calmed down and overall it was peaceful sight to look . They sat in silence for a good 15 minutes when Amairaah broke the silence - " I am really screwed up ! Aren't I ? She asked looking towards Daya. " Now-a-days who isn't ?" Daya replied not breaking his eye contact from the sea. Amairaah smiled at that answer. " Do you miss your parents ?" Amairaah asked Daya . " I haven't known a life with them. So that gives me nothing to remember !" Daya replied . " What do you miss about your parents ?" Daya further asked. Amairaah knew where the conversation was going .So in order to turn things lighter she replied , " The moments where mom used to scold shreya di. " Both of them laughed at that. Amairaah's smile suddenly stopped when she saw the way Daya was stating into her." You have changed a lot since 4 years. Haven't you ?" Daya asked. Amairaah had actually never thought about that. She remembered how she was before. She wanted everything from her life. Too many friends. Too much work. She wanted to travel a lot to write good books. She wanted to be selfish and then unselfish also. She knew she was expecting too much from her life but she was determined to get it. Amairaah then looked at herself. She was far far away from what exactly she wanted to be. She had became a loner just wanting the day to end. Amairaah then realised that Daya was waiting for an answer. She said , " Death changes everything. And for me time healed nothing. I still miss their voice ,the wisdom in their advice and just being them by my side. So for those who say that time is a solution to all the problems - No, Time heals nothing. I still miss them today as much I missed them the day when both of them died." Even Daya didn't have an answer to that. The tension was increasing by the minute. Daya knew that. He could make it because it was becoming difficult for Amairaah to even speak. So he just laid their doing the best thing he could do - Sitting by her. Amairaah's emotions were getting the best of her. He Silently sat their just waiting for Amairaah to speak up. In order to comfort her - He took one of his hands and grabbed the back of her neck. This gesture thouched Amairaah and a small tear drop appeared on her cheeks. She was not crying like she was yesterday but still she was sniffling. Daya said nothing today. He silently watched her. After sometime Amairaah turned her head sideways to look at Daya. He eyes had a glaze due to the glassy appearcne of the tears. Suddenly she tightly shut her eyes in order to controll her tears. " Damn , I had decided not to cry !' Amairaah said to Daya.

Daya just took this moment and held Amairaah by the shoulder . He brought her near to him. Amairaah didn't delay to accept his comfort. " You know what ?" Daya asked. Amairaah raised her head slightly above from the crook of his neck to see what he was asking. " You don't cry because you are weak . You cry because you have been strong for too long !" Daya said. Amairaah was astonished at this statement. " Strong , And that too me !! Are you serious ?" Amairaah asked to Daya. Daya was expecting this reaction. " Yeah !! why not. " Daya said to the surprised girl. He continued, " You are independent , intelligent , a little crazy but you are fierce ! You have an adventurous streak. I can say that cause I have known very few girls who pay a visit at this secluded beach and that too at this hour of night ! You have little demons in your head. But the point is it takes tremendous courage to face the same thing each day all over again. You have been through hell but believe me If any other person was in the same situation as you he or she wouldn't have made it out alive. And here you are inspite of all the sufferings facing the world at a headstrong girl ! And if that doesn't define Strong I don't know what does !" Daya was holding Amairaah by her shoulder all the time when he was talking to her. He had expected some reaction from Amairaah. But to his surprise all he managed to get was utter silence. He looked down at Amairaah ! She was burried deep into sleep. Daya laughed at the site. Guess - I am a lousy speech maker he thought. Very carefully he took the coffee cup from her hand and put it in the dustbin thay was very near to them. He shaked up Amairaah a little bit. Amairaah stirred up in sleep. He held her by the hand and made her sit in the passenger seat of the car. He locked the door from outside. He himself sat in the driver's seat and began the journey towards Amairaah's home.

( At Amairaah's home)

Radhabai was waiting on the porch and worried for Daya. She knew somewhere she was wrong in calling Daya at this odd hour of night. He might be angry on Amairaah for such behavior.

Suddenly Radhabai heard the gate of their house being opened. She saw a car entering. Daya was driving it and Amairaah was seen sitting peacefully on the passenger seat. She prepared herself to face some kind of cranky behavior from Daya. But at this point her Amairaah was safely back and she could face anything for it. Daya came out from the car and opened Amairaah's door from outside. After opening the door he made place for Radhabai . He himself opened the backseat door and handed Amairaah's jacket and shoes to Radhabai. " Itti raat me pareshan karna nahi chahti tthi me. Par me bhi kya krti !" Radhabai said. Very calmly Daya said to her that it was not needed.

Radhaibai helped half asleep Amairaah in her bedroom. From the window itself she saw Daya leaving for his home.

She sat besides Amairaah for sometime and caressed her. She was worried for her but Daya had brought her back home.

Finally something good was happening in this family and she sure wasn't going to let that go !


	17. Chapter 17

@srikant : Thank you so much srikant for a lovely comment !!!

@Apurva vaingankar : Be strong girl ! You dont know how strong you are untill being strong is the only choice you have.

@Laksara : Mujhe bohot khushi hui ki aapko last wala chapter itta pasand aya. And I like to reply to reviews !!

@Sakshi B. : Calmness is sure the key. Hope you enjoy this chapter.

@Nirali : Thank you Nirali.

@aditi : Thank you aditi ! You dont know how much your reviews motivate me to write. Thank you for always being there to support me !

@Guest : Thank you

@Guest : Hope you like this chapter also.

@Mystiques : Thank you so much for a beautiful review. Such reviews keep me going.

Chapter 17

" Seriously , I can't believe we are watching a romantic movie again !!" Ehsaan said to Kavya. " Meri kya galti hai tum dono ne hi late Kiya ! Agar jaldi ate the toh woh mara piti wali film ki ticket mil jati !" Kavya replied in anger. " Ho gaya na abhi . Tum dono shant raho. Waise bhi andar jane ke baad woh film ke bakwas dialogue sunne hi hai. Tum dono at least shanti rakho !" Amairaah said stopping both of them !

All the four friends had arrived for the movie as decided yesterday !

They searched for the particular screen number and finally found theirs . They laughed at the poster of movie that was was present at the door . When they realised that they were creating a nuisance they rushed themselves inside and took their seats.

Just a short time after the beginning of the movie , Amairaah realised that no amount of comfort can make up for the lack of movie plot. Yeah seats were very very comfortable but the movie - It really really sucked and it sucked big time. Amairaah stretched on the red velvety seats yawning. Her back arched along the back rest and she looked at the watch. There was still one hour to go. " I' ll just go out and bring some pop corn ! " Amairaah said . Immediately Ehsaan said , " I will come with you !" Amairaah and Ehsaan both laughed looking at each other's expression. " This is the 4th time you are going out guys ! Can you just be quite and peaceful ! " Kavya said not diverting her attention from the screen. " Calm and peachful !!!! Calm and peaceful ????? You are lucky Kavya that we haven't left you alone in this theatre." Lakshya said popping his eyeballs out. Amairaah and Ehsaan went out to get some pop corn.

Ehsaan told Amairaah to get the pop corn while he goes to freshen up a little bit. Amairaah followed and was standing in front of the pop corn counter. She got the pop corn and turned around to return back. But Amairaah was shocked seeing a man standing so close to her. "Aahhh !" Amairaah said as a shockingly. The man did nothing he was quitely standing there staring into Amairaah as she picked up her purse. He was gray haired with a shaggy face. His clothes had surely seen better days. The shirt was of a lot bigger than his actual size and the pants - They were crumbled really really crumbled. " Suno mujhe tumse kuch baat karni hai. Ahmedabad court shyd firse 4 saal pehle ka case reopen krne ke orders nikal sakta hai ...Toh aise me.." The person was saying all these things when her realised that Amairaah wasn't paying any attention. He traced his eyes to see as what was Amairaah looking at when he found a boy of roughly Amairaah's age walking towards them. The man sighed in frustration. He quickly covered himself with a scarf that pooled around his neck and left his place. " Kaun tha woh ?" Ehsaan asked . " Pata nahi kaun tha toh ! Kuch baat karra tha par mera dhyaan hi nahi gaya ! Waise chalo lets get inside bohot der ho gyi hai !" Amairaah said to Ehsaan as they made their way in to theatre.

The man watched the retreating figures of Amairaah and Ehsaan. One more chance to talk with this girl was gone. He stomped his foot in anger. He needed to get that message to Amairaah and it was becoming quite difficult for him by the minute. He had been following her for 2 days now. Today also he enetred the particular movie with her , Got the seat exactly behind her even ventured out from the movie whenever he saw Amairaah leaving . But no, luck didn't favoured him. But today it was the last chance. He took a deep breath and decided to give it one more go !.

( In the parking )

"Hurry up guys its already late ! Meri hostek ki limit khatam ho jaygi !" Kavya said as the four friends searched for their car in the parking. The movie was finally over and they were headed home. After wandering for about 10 minutes more they finally found the car and all heaved a sigh of relied. Lakshya got in the driver seat and started reversing the car. The others waited at some distance.

Amairaah's phone rang. She knew who it was. " Haa Daya sir bas nikal hi rahe hai . Thoda late ho gaya movie khatam hone ko !" Amairaah said it at the instant she picked up the phone. " Jaldi karo ! Kafi late ho gaya hai. And ghar Jane ke baad ekbaar text kardena !" Daya said from the other said. Amairaah replied affirmatively and she put the phone back in the pocket. They were ready to get home now. As she stepped forward to take a seat in the car ,she was grabbed by someone. Two hands came out of nowhere , one hand tightly shut her mouth and the other held her wrist so tightly that her knuckles and palm turned white. Ehsaan and Kavya were dumbfounded about what exactly happened. Lakshya came out of car as soon as he sensed that something is wring outside. Ehsaan tried to attack the person but he was punched to such an extent that he landed on the floor. " Koi kuch nahi karega ! Sab shant raho ! Me tumhari dost ko kuch nahi karunga .Mujhe ise bas kuch jaruri btana hai !" Amairaah tried to kick the person by her legs but her strength was comparable to the person . Afterall this man had knocked down Ehsaan and she was nowhere in the competition. Sensing Amairaah's resistance , The person's grip tightened . " 4 saal purana case reopen ho sakta hai. Toh aise me jo suspects hai woh khud ko bachane ke liye evidences or witnesses..." The person said this and suddenly there was a sound of gunshot. Nobody knew from where the bullet came. But they only knew one thing. Some body had been hurt cause there was red fluid pooling on the lanolium flooring.

The person who was holding Amairaah , Suddenly his grip loosened. He winced in pain and after a few seconds he completely freed Amairaah. He put his palm on his leg and limping he reached the nearby pillar. He had been shot on the thigh.

Amairaah ran towards her friends. She looked at the man that was holding her. He was the same man that had catched her in the middle of the movie. And now he was shot. Her eyes then fell on the person that was coming towards them. He had a agile figure like that of a olympic gymnast. He was covered in black clothes from tip to toe. With his blunt hands he picked up the gun that was lying on the ground . His hands were quite stable as he did that. He fired a dry shot at an imaginary Target and smiled as if he was ready now. Ready to shoot and kill .

" Ramesh babu ! Pohoch hi gye aap humse pehle yaha. Koi nahi humne bhi jyada deri nahi ki ." The guy said as he made his way towards the little crowd. He was presumably talking to the guy that had grabbed Amairaah. He was still standing behind the pillar with a profusely bleeding thigh. He saw the car keys near his leg. Very gently he slided them near Amairaah's leg and signelled them to go from here. Very conspicuously Amairaah bent down in order to get the hold of keys. But suddenly she felt a sharp stinging pain on her leg and in no moment she could she her blood soaking legs of her jeans. She lifted the fabric slightly upward to see a small knife . She had been stabbed.

" Hoshiyaari nahi bilkul !" The man said as he finally reached the crowd. The man grabbed Ramesh by his collar and pointed a gun on his head. " Jyada udra na tu aajkal ? Sale sukh se jeene nahi doge hume ! Sabko ek ek karke tapkane ki jarurat hai !" He said as he slapped Ramesh on his face.

The four people that were watching this were completely confused. First a man grabs Amairaah and then other man comes grabs him.

When the conversation between two guys was going on suddenly in fraction of second the scene changed. It was now Ramesh who was pointing a gun at the other guy. He looked at the four young adults and said , " Jao jaldi yahase ! Bhago yahase dur !" The two girls were still frozen in their place but the two boys grabbed them by hand. " Amairaah !" Ramesh said again. " police ko inform mat karna !" He continued looking at her with pleading eyes.

The four friends rushed out of the place as fast as they could.

Laksya pressed on the accelerator hard enough . He wanted to be just quite away where the two men couldn't reach !

The outside sight was like that of the one which we see in the cartoons. Only a blurred trail of color was seen due to the nitrous like speed of the car.

Finally after 15-20 minutes they had reached a safe area and lakshya reduced his speed. Ehsaan signelled him to stop for something. As lakshya stopped , Ehsaan and kavya got out. Amairaah didn't knew for what they went. She wasn't interested in anything now after the happenings.

Amairaah shaked her head violently trying to find out a meaning behind all that had happened. She even pounded her head up and down but she couldn't make out anything. She was still musing over all the thoughts when she heard a thud . It was sound of door closing. Ehsaan and Kavya were back and they were back with a handful of medical supplies. She remembered her stab wound.

Amairaah unsteadily rose her feet and started having a look at the wound. It was wound with clean edges. Blood was still gushing out from it. Ehsaan held her legs and tried to apply the disinfectant that he could get. Amairaah winced in pain. Though on the surface it looked small approximately of size 1 cm but Amairaah knew that inside it was quite deep. It had too be .It was knife injury. Within a few minutes only even Ehsaan's fingers started showing red color. He packed the wound properly with a gauge and covered it with bandages. " Lets hope it doesn't needs stitches now !" He said throwing all the medical waste in a paper bag. He went outside to dispose them and washed his hands on the side of road using the drinking water that had left with them. Nobody had spoken about the incident since they had left the place. And nobody knew why. Kavya finally broke the silence asking to Amairaah , " Kaun the woh log pata hai ?" Amairaah nodded negatively. She didn't even say no. She had no voice left. This life is surely not easy for her. They left the topic alone when Amairaah's fone suddenly rang. 'Daya sir' - The name flashed on the screen. She wasn't ready to pick up the call when suddenly laksya said " Answer it." Taking a deep breathe Amairaah pushed the green button and said , " Hello !" There was little pause and then " Amairaah kaha tha na bohot raat ho chuki hai . Seedhe ghar jana hai. Ab tk ghar nahi pohoche ho tum ? Kaha ghum rahe ho." Amairaah swallowed some air. What should she say now . She was about to tell him about the incident that happened when suddenly something floated her mind . ' Amairaah - police ko kuch mat batana !' That guy Ramesh had said this to her before leaving . And without giving a second thought Amairaah said to Daya , " Sir woh car kharab ho gyi thi isiliye. We are just 20 minutes away from home. don't worry !" The other three looked at her in shock. But they decided not to stretch that thing.

After sometime Amairaah's home finally arrived and they bid farwell to Amairaah asking her to take car of herself and not to overthink about the issue. But how could she not overthink this. Already it was like Amairaah was a professional over thinker and now with all this stuff happening how could she not overthink this !

( Amairaah's home )

"Kitti der kardi beta ? Khana laga du ?" Radhabai asked Amairaah. But Amairaah replied that she had eaten outside only and just wants to sleep thats it.

Saying this Amairaah proceeded towards her room.

Amairaah sat on the bed. Case reopen hone wala hai matlab ? - Amairaah thought. If the case was going to be reopened then Shreya would have definitely told her. She didn't hide such big things from her. And agar case reopen ho raha Hai to whats the meaning of todays happenings . Amairaah thought again. She replayed and replayed all the things several times in her mind to find a meaning behind them.

Even after sometime when everything was still without a logic, Amairaah felt like a prisnor inside her own head. She was quite helplees in her own cage of pain. She was blinded by the events occuring today trying to remember if Shreya had told her anything and then followed by sudden carved darkness and stillness. Pain throbbed so violently around her skull making Amairaah wander that why just it doesn't crack open the skull.

Even after hours of thinking only 2 things seemed meaningful to her -

1\. That person's name was Ramesh.

2\. He was trying to tell something about the case of her parents murder .

She was still clueless about the third guy who had stabbed her.

She got up from the wooden floor and had a look at the watch. It was around 1:45 am. She needed to sleep. Her leg throbbed by the passing minute but thanks to the overload of thoughts on her brain she didn't have the time to check on it. She opened the drawer and popped a pill and covered herself in blanket.

( 2 Days after the incident )

Radhabai had noticed the change in the behavior of Amairaah. She was always lost somewhere. She had just started to relax and appreciate her life but now she was again back in the negative range and being an extremist. The laughter lines were again replaced by the angry creases and she had became more aggresive . Radhabai knew something had happened that night. But she couldn't figure it out. She had even asked Amairaah's friends but they denied everything and said , everything's fine. She was forgetting things. She started forgetting her phone , any important books and today she had forgotten her lunch !

( In Amairaah's college )

" Amu , chod ab ! Mat soch itna ! Dekh uss din ke baad toh baadme kuch hua nahi na. So leave it !" Kavya said to Amairaah as were waiting for their order in the canteen. " Mere mom dad ki case ki wajahse log ek dusro ko goliyan tak marne ko tayar hai ! This is something ki you just can't overlook , right ?" Amairaah replied.

Suddey Amairaah received a message on her phone. It read. , " desert party tonight. Don't worry Daya will pick and drop you up ." For a time being change will feel good Amairaah thought. And most importantly the second part was necessary. Because even though she was driving , It hurt tremendously to push the break or accelarator.

( In the evening )

Amairaah was ready and waiting for Daya. He told her that he would be there in 10 minutes. Amairaah was wearing a full sleeves dress as there was still a purple bruise over her wrist. Although it was fading already , it's presence could still be marked. She heard the car honking and immediately got up. She knew Daya was here. Amairaah sat in the car in the passenger seat and they left for their desserts.

It was a calm party. No loud music. Instead there was a slow instrumental track playing with a medium sound. The lights were not exactly dim but they were little less than what we could say bright light. Amairaah was liking it here except the part that Daya was observing her. He sure had something in his mind. Amairaah was walking quite normal. There was no limping.

But Daya , could anybody hide something from his eyesight. He knew something was wrong. Though she was walking almost right , Something wasn't adding up. Perhaps one foot was stopping for too long or maybe going long. It was hard to tell. But one thing Daya could definitely tell was that there was something out of sync.

The household worker of Tarika kept asking if they wanted something but Amairaah declined. They were still chatting there and Amairaah's leg started to ache again. She excused herself to the washroom to have a look at it. When Amairaah reached the washroom and raised her jeans a little bit she was thankful as nothing was overtly wrong with the wound. Its just normal course pain. But boy it was burning. Burning so much she wanted to run to her house as fast as she could. Amairaah looked at herself in the mirror and bucked up. She took 3-4 deep breathes and left for downstairs. She made her way back to the table where she was previously sitting. After sometime Daya who was sitting just opposite to her asked , " Why are you so jumpy Amairaah?" Amairaah's eyes widened at that. " Please stop looking at me . Please stop looking at me " She prayed mentally. " Achchise baitho !" Daya said. Amairaah adjusted herself again. But boy now she didn't care about how she looked she just wanted to get out of the party. " You keep moving your leg ?" Came the second question from Daya.

Amairaah's heart raced , Does he have to notice everything. You can never get by anything with this man. Amairaah thought. Now what was she supposed to say. She had closed the doors to truth yesterday night itself and now she actually had nothing to say. " Woh ek jagah rakh ke akad raha hai ! " Amairaah finally said. At least she could come up with soemthing sensible. And then Pankaj ordered another round of deserts.

Oh boy , Amairaah just didn't need anymore desert. Her leg was killing her and she just wanted to get home and put something on it.

Amairaah was still wiggling and Daya was continuously staring at her. He kept staring at her more and more. Amairaah was now practically ready to shout in pain. But she needed to be calm about it. She couldn't let anybody find out.

Finally...Finally everybody was done eating their scrumptious deserts and it was time to leave. " Chalo bhai hum nikalte hai !" Daya said getting up from his seat. That sounded like music to Amairaah's ear. Daya looked at Amairaah and said , " Ready ?" Amajraah replied , " Yep !" They both made their way to the car. Amairaah sat in the passenger seat and closed her eyes. She was tired. Practically exhausted. And to top it all her wound pained. Can it get better than this. Her eyelids were heavy and she would practically fall asleep at the sight of bed and blankets.

They pulled up the drive leading to Amairaah's house and within no time they reached their.

" It was a good party ! Thanks for dropping me ! " Amairaah said. Daya nodded and looked at Amairaah making her way inside.

Amairaah was happy that she was home but more than that she was happy as Daya hadn't asked her about anything. She heaved a sigh of relief. She was about to make her way upstairs when ,

" Sundaes are your favourite desert Amairaah ! And still you didn't have any of them ?" Amairaah literally choked at that voice. Bur she needed to maintain her calm. Very peacefully she replied , " Uh !! I guess jyada bhuk nahi thi !" Amairaah said hoping Daya would accept it. Daya was standing their and then he crossed his arms. " I see , bhuk kyu nahi thi ?" Daya asked again ! Amairaah literally cried to herself mentally. What is with this guy. Next time I will order 2 sundaez she thought to herself. " Bas nahi thi. Mood kaharb tha college me kavya ke sath kuch ho gaya tha !" Amairaah lied. She had no option now. " Daya sir , I need to take a shower !" Amairaah said as she turned herself towards the stairs .

"Amairaah !" Daya called again

"Yes ??" Amairaah asked but didn't turned around to look at him.

"Let me see you leg !" Daya said in a Stern voice.

Amairaah stopped dead in her tracks even afraid to turn around. She squinted her eyes in frustration. She had tried ; she had tried a lot but could she get by anything with this man.

" Amairaah me firse nahi bataunga ! Come here and show your leg !"

Amairaah let out a sigh and turned around. She knew nothing could be done now. She saw Daya standing there with an awful stare. He was in his usual position when he had enough.

" Dont stall Amairaah !" Daya said little sternly this time.

Amairaah began descending the steps . Daya was quite angry with Amairaah , she could tell that. And in a few minutes he was going to be really really upset.

Amairaah was standing there in front this angry man with her head down and utmost guilt. With the body language only Daya figured out that Amairaah was seriously sorry for something. Singlehandedly he pulled a coffee table towards themselves and placed it in front of the couch. The coffee table was light but this man had unmeasurable strength.

"Sit on the couch and put your leg on this table !" Daya instructed her.

Amairaah slowly followed . She sat on the couche and unsteadily lifted her leg up.

" Left your pant's leg up !" Daya said again angrily.

He saw a bandaged wound. " Kholo ise !" Daya again said.

Daya was shocked seeing the wound. Honestly he had expected it to be a slight bruising or abrasion but this was a whole new level.

" Kaha se ayi ye chot ?" Daya asked angrily.

" ka...ka...Cutter ghus gaya tha !" Amairaah said.

Daya's frustration increased. He wanted to slap Amairaah then and there. He said , " Do you even understand that you are suffocating in lies ! Itta juth koi insan kaise kya bol sakta hai. You are breathing in lies and if you continue the same way ! You are going to be dead in them !" Daya said that without even blinking ones. He was really really frustrated. The frustration was building by the minute and he was sure going to explode. He wanted to shout at her , teach her a lesson but he changed her mind looking at the wound. His hands went in his pockets and bought out a phone. He called someone and said to Amairaah , " Chalo !"

Amairaah didn't want to go anywhere but looking at the anger of Daya she didn't take any chances. She got up and winced in pain. It was really really hurtful. Daya saw that and he felt hurt. He never thought that at this moment Amairaah would start hiding injuries from him but she had. She had hid a serious injury. He forwarded his hand to her in order to help her walk. When Amairaah took his hands suddenly the touched shocked Daya. He turned around to look at her. She was beefy red and her skin was glistening to a level that would worry any one. Daya came near her and kept his hand on her forehead and then on her neck.Amairaah had a slight fever . "Bukhar kabse hai ?" Daya asked. Amairaah didn't exactly knew that so she had no answer. " Seriously how reckless can you get about your health. " Daya said to her . " Tetanus ka injection toh liya hoga na khudse hi ?" Daya asked with some hope. Amairaah put her face down. She had bought the syringe and all the things home but she didn't get the time to prick herself . Daya raised his hands and gave up. He literally dragged ger towards the car and made her sit inside. He sat in the driver's seat and accelarated through the way to reach his friend's clinic.

It was quite late . Actually no crowd was seen in the clinic . Amairaah even wondered what was the doctor doing this late with an empty clinic.

" Are aao Daya , Whats the emergency ?" Rahul asked untill he saw Amairaah's leg.

"Okayy ! get inside" He said as he opened the door to his cabin. Daya Made Amairaah sit on the bed and he himself took his seat on the chair. " This little one finds trouble real fast ! Right ?" Rahul asked and Daya laughed at that. Amairaah didn't . Laugh all you want to but she couldn't help but think about her impeding doom that she had to face with Daya. Rahul pulled out a stool and sat in front of her bed. He adjusted Amairaah's leg to his liking and started his work. When he was about to inject the local anasthesia his sight went towards Amairaah's hand that were resting on her sides. Not only they had purple bruises but they were shaking. Amairaah was having tremors. He made a mental not to talk about it to Daya later.

He injected the local anasthesia and Amairaah made no fuss. She was used ti this. But as he started to stitch the wound using needle - even Amairaah looked away. Nobody wants to see themselves get stitched.

Amairaah had started feeling drowsy. She drifted in consciousness and then again back out. The world in front of her was blurr and random images came and flooded her mind. They came as though her thoughts had been blown away in an hurricane.

A tap on her shoulder momentarily bought back but she again driffted back again to God knows where. " Amairaah ?" Some one called her and it was not Daya . She knew his voice too well. Even Daya became tensed on seeing this condition. He got up from his chair to speak to her. But as soon as he opened his mouth to speak to her Rahul stopped Daya raising his hands towards him.

"Amairaah ?" Rahul said a little louder this time. This woke up Amairaah.

" I am sorry ! I am just a little tired !" She said as soon as she bolted up from sleep. "Okay , fine I just need your blood for some test and then I will give you a tetanus shot. Then you are done !" Rahul said.

He did that accordingly and finally the clinic part was done. Now she was going to be all alone with angry Daya and his questions.

" Remember don't put pressure on the leg ; and just try to stay out of trouble !" Rahul said to Amairaah. He then turned towards Daya and said " I will give you a call when her reports come back !"

Daya helped Amairaah down from the bed and thanked Rahul for his help at this late hour of night and took his leave.

They both walked towards the parking. Amairaah thought that Daya was going to start scolding her from the moment they were left alone. But he was awfully silence. And this silence was not the one that occurs before or after the storm. This was the silence that was present during the storm. The one very few people are able to notice. Amairaah knew that he had a storm going on in his mind. She stopped and suddenly looked into the deep orbs of the person besides her. His eyes were burning with anger. " Answer me !!" He didn't speak this but his eyes roared. But Amairaah's heart fell silent. Her lips didn't willed to move. As If stuck under water everything was slow and warbled. Daya's eyes searched into Amairaah's for an answer. But her mind was blank as she stared at him in complete horror. She had to say something. Amairaah searched her mind to find something reasonable to say but to her surprise it was empty.

Daya moved his head in deep frustration and made his way towards the car. He sat inside waiting for Amairaah to sit in the passenger sit.

He had known Rahul enough to sense body language. And his body language today screamed that something was gravely wrong.

Amairaah sat inside the car and in her usual position rested her head on the window. The ride was a complete silence.

The roads were quite empty. The car's headlight relfected from the water that had accumalated in the road.

Daya stole a glance at Amairaah ! He wondered to himself ! " What are doing wrong this time ? What have you done wrong this time ???...


	18. Chapter 18

@Apurva Vaingankar : hehe...itte loving charachter ho gaya. Kabhi na kabhi toh gussa ayega na !!

@Laksara : Yeah . Your anger is natural ! And Dont worry about Amairaah !! Daya sir hai uske sath. Thank you laksara...

@Mystiques : Now you will know what dr rahul is sensing.

@Sunshines : Thank you sunshines for reviewing my both the chapters. Haa thoda thriller shuru ho gya hai ! Lets see aur kya kya hota hai !

@reviewer : Are bhagwan ki bhi jarurat nahi pdegi. Hai Daya sir Age !!!

@Aditi : Yes ofcourse ! How horrible is it for Amu !! Koi bhi anjan log ake kya karte hai ! Danger surely lies ahead !

@Guest : Thank you so much ! Aapka review padhke achcha laga !

@Charu : I know the point of view. And I am working for it ! Thank you for your review.

Sorry for the late update guys !!

Chapter - 18

She was stuck in the same room. It was pitch black. There was no light. So how was she so sure about the place that she had been here before. The air was familiar. There was all sort of negativity filled inside it. She knew if she walked to the room that lies before this , she would see Shreya being murdered. If she walks to the room that lies ahead of this then she would she Daya being murdered. And no matter what she does they end up being murdered. They end up dying. So Amairaah did what's best she could do. She sat there not moving a single step from where she was standing. She sat their folding her legs and hugging her knees.And in the intense silence , she heard a scream followed by another. She knew it was Shreya's and Daya's. She didn't even budge, although her fist clenched that blanched the knuckles , her nails dug dip into the skin of her arms.But one thing didn't change. Her face. Her eyes , they remained stationery , unblinked as if nothing mattered to her.All she was waiting for the moment the nightmare would be over. Untill then she would just be there - pretending as she was not there.

Tears rolled down silently from Amairaah's eyes as she silently opened her eyes to the coolness of air. The tears reached the pillow. Her head was heavy. She sat up on the bed. The ground felt too lumpy as if she was sleeping on earth with rocks. Her clothes felt damp. Of course they would be. She had been sweating for quite a long time.

Amairaah didn't scream now on seeing nightmares. She didn't. She had trained herself to do that. Afterall this was going to be her life. Silently screaming and fighting the battles that nobody knew about.

She looked at the watch. It was 4:30 in the morning. She still had a little time to sleep. But before that she wished to do something. She didn't know if that was appropriate . Appropriate to call him in the early morning. But she knew that he is usually awake at this time so without wasting any time she picked up the phone and dialled a number.

" Hello acp sir ?" Amairaah said as acp pradyuman picked up the phone on the other side. " Amu ?? iss waqt sab thik toh hai na ?" He said quite surprisingly. Of course it was still quite early for a call. " Haa sir ! koi problem wagre nahi hai ! Bas puchna tha ki di se wagre baat hui kya aapki ? Kuch signal bheja unhone ?" Amairaah asked with a hope. " Bete , kya hua ? Shreya bilkul thik hai ! Tum bilkul chinta mat karo ! " Acp pradyuman replied. There was a silence for about 2 mins when ACP sir again said , " Kya baat hai Amairaah ?" Amairaah replied , " Nahi sir bas woh di ki yaad agyi toh !" Acp sir assured Amairaah not to worry about such stuff and told to get some more sleep.

Now-a-days the worry for Shreya sat below every smile, every action and every silly joke . But there was no option to it. It was like she was already overdosed on some drug but she had to take it.

Amairaah went back to her room and tried to regain the sleep that she had lost months back !

Morning came early and Amairaah was still asleep. She was still as a brick. The only thing that showed movement was her chest that moved up and down. It was hard to believe that this was the same girl who had been terrorized some hours ago. This sleep was short lived as Amairaah's sleep broke due to the beaming rays falling on her facee. Very slowly she got up and rested herself on the back of the bed. She rubbed her eyes with the side of her hands attempting to open them as much as possible. Once she was satisfied she tied her hair in a messy bun and got up for her morning chores. A whole new day laid ahead of her.

After one hour ,Amairaah was done getting ready for her college and she came down for breakfast. The whole kitchen Atmosphere was filled with aroma. For a normal person it would have felt like a great start to the morning with tasty food but for Amairaah, the case was not the same. Her mouth suddenly turned dry with thick saliva and she groaned painfully. She squinted her eyes and running only she made her way to her bedroom. No - She didn't vomit but she was feeling a hell lot of nauseous.

Such smells didn't bother Amairaah before but she knew what was happening to her. Her body was reacting to the excessive dose of unneeded medications. The medications of sleeping pills and the stimulants that she had started taking almost regularly. Her legs were not steady and there was a rising feeling of nausea inside her stomach. It was so surprising that the muscle that were strong enough fifteen minutes before were struggling to stand straight now. But still Amairaah gathered herself. She knew she can't he home for these silly reasons . So she very slowly made her way through her house into the garage in her car.

( Late morning )

Daya was grocery shopping today. He had a late call time and some important essential stuff to buy. So he was here. There was a time when his cart was filled with ready to eat foods. Yes this man was conscious of his health. But this was the same man who at times had to work continiously for days when he barely used to get time to cook himself something healthy.

But after Shreya this totally changed. Today his cart was filled with fresh produce and not a single ready to eat junkie. After a long time he had found someone would moniter his health so closely. Whenever they were on grocery shopping together , the moment Shreya used to catch Daya picking such food she used to take the controll of the cart. Every single time. He was so engrossed in thinking about her that he just blindly roamed untill he noticed that he was around the corner of a baking products aisle.

( Flashback )

Daya admired his love from a distance. She was standing in front of some baking ingredients which Daya never knew existed. She was thinking hard rubbing her finger on her chin. Her innocent face , the creases on her forehead showed all the stress that she was hiding from the world. Her perfectly carved brows . But then the most important thing - Her eyes, they showed her soul. From the side view her long lashes felt as if a perfect ribbon tied on a present and everytime she opened her eyes it felt like Christmas.

" Daya maine kuch pucha tumse ?" Shreya said snapping her fingers in front of him. " Haaa" Daya said coming out from his zone. " Daya..tum bhi na ! coconut extract lu ya vanilla extract ? Bachcho ko kaunsa pasand ayega !" This was not totally Daya's zone . He asked Shreya to take whatever she thinks fine. Apparently he had promised Shreya that he would take her to his orphanage. His first home. So they had decided that they would pick up some stuff for the kids to eat. But Shreya said that she would herself bake them cupcakes. Wasn't this another thing to admire in a girl. She tried to give everything a personal touch.

They had finally finished their shopping and were at the billing counter. The bill showed the amount around 2000 rs. Daya's eyes popped out. " Itta kya kharida tumne Shreya ?" He asked. Shreya said , " Daya , Baking products expensive hi hote hai !" Daya said again , " Par 2000". Shreya laughed and said , " Okay just pay for it now. Me tumhare account me 2000 rs reimburse kara dungi !" Shreya said this looking forwards at the cash counter lady. But little did she know that this man can take her by surprise any moment. With one hand Daya held Shreya's waist and whispered in her ear with his husky voice, " Jo chiz se Shreya ko khushi mile aur me kharid na saku ! Aisa ho hi nahi sakta !" His other hand went forward to give his card to the counter lady ! Shreya had butterflies in her stomach. This man could make her legs drop dead like jelly in no time. The payment was done and their little grocery shopping date was over. Could this be even called as a date ???

Why not ! Thier love was like this only. No fancy restaurant dates , no gifts and no bouquets. Would people even call this a true love. But What was true love ? What was life ? This was a great question. The one which was supposed to close in on in the coming years. But the great revealation never did come. Perhaps the great revealation will never come. But instead there were moments like lights struck by the matchsticks in the darkest corner. And perhaps these were the ones !

( Present )

Daya was back to present ! He was so enjoying reliving his past moments but his phone vibrated ! He pulled it out from the pocket and asnwered , " Haa Rahul bolo !"

Rahul said from the opposite side , " Daya woh Amairaah ke reports aa gye hai !Aake mil sakte ho aaj ?" Daya looked at his watch. Now he didn't have the time so he said , " Aaj raat me chalega kya Rahul ?" His friend said , " Are kabhi bhi ajao bas !" Daya then finalised a late night time. He asked out of concern ," Kya baat hai Rahul ? Kuch serious hai kya ?" Rahul pacified him that there was nothing serious as such and after sometime their conversation ended. Daya hurried to purchase the things of his needs because in his day dreaming he had lost track of his time. He had to rush to the bereau !

( Afternoon- Amairaah's college )

The amygdala is a major part of human brain that controlls a range of emotions. The most important emotion is fear. Alterations in this emotions produce secondary effects on emotions such as agrresiveness , rudeness , anger , avoidance , ignorance ,insomnia and what not. One sure does not need a misbehaved amygdala. But this part of Amairaah's brain topped the list of misbehaving. Thinking something and then again thinking that it's illogical and then again back to square one and then thinking back again. These were the few reasons that her face had an appearance of a zombie.

" Koi toh kuch nayi , spicy , chatpati si khabar batao yaar !" Kavya said out of boredom. " Tu na kavya kisi khabri ko chod de college me ! Ye kaam humse na ho payga !" Ehsaan said. " What say ? Amairaah !" Ehsaan continued. But only thing went in her head. " Khabri " . Her thinking started again. " What if the guy other day was one of her Dad's informer ?What if something very important happening was around the corner ? What if..." Amairaah's mind raced. The only way to find out was to check some of her father's diaries in his study if she finds any number worth contacting. It was still lunch time and all she wanted to do was just run home and run into her father's study !!

Time flied really really slow when she actually wanted to end it in a jiffy. She was actually counting minutes. When thier time was finally over, Amairaah literally dragged Kavya by the hand

She just wanted to hurry. " Amairaah sun toh meri baat ! Itti kya jaldi hai ?" Kavya asked. " Tu bas chal ! mujhe aaj ghar jaldi jana hai !"

( Amairaah's home )

As soon as Amairaah reached the home , she made a mad dash towards her father's study. " Kaha bhag ke jaa rahe ho beta ?" Radhabai asked but Amairaah had no time to pay atttention. Her heart raced. Her heart beat was so strong that her chest could burst anytime.But as soon as she reached in front of the study , the beats shallowed. She stopped there only. Quite a large time had passed since she entered this room. The last time she was here was when she had to keep the things that were retrieved from her Father's office. After that she didn't enter the room. It took a lot of courage for her to do that. " Was she doing the right thing ?" Amairaah thought ! Right or wrong but she had no option. She had really come farway from telling truth to Radhabai aur Daya ! So now she was left to figure things out by herself.

So with her partially numb hands , Amairaah turned the door knob. The door opened easily. It was not jammed. Radhabai used to clean this room very regularly. So it was not that , that the room had been totally closed for 4 years.

Amairaah's heart sank at the site of an empty chair and the table. The table which was supposed to be filled with paper works and files had very few things on it now. Just a family photo that even included Radhabai and a very young Dattu , Her father's amry cap and a pen stand. Unknowingly a tear rolled down from Amairaah's left eye. She went forwards and passed her fingers over the cap. Amairaah felt a jolt in her body. She immediately retrieved her hands back and took some deep breathes. She composed herself and made up her mind that she was here for some work.

Amairaah started seaching the drawers for some diaries that she had kept there. She had found those diaries when Shreya and Amairaah had went to collect his things from his office. Amairaah pulled out 3-4 diaries and sat on the floor taking support of a Almiraah for her back. She picked up one from the bunch and started turning pages for anything she could find by the name Ramesh. She knew it was tidious job but she had a positive feeling that she would reach somehwere after this search.

( Late evening )

Daya parked his car in front of Rahul's clinic. He was worried as what news Rahul was going to give him. Thinking about the various possibilities that might happen he made his way upstairs. He informed the receptionist about his arrival and the receptionist went inside to tell her boss.

Daya waited in the reception area for 10 minutes after he got the call. He made his way inside Rahul's cabin.

" Aao Daya baitho !" Rahul said. " Kya baat hai Rahul ? Sab thik toh hai na ?" Daya asked not able to wait anymore. " Daya , Tumne uss din Amairaah ka behavior observe kiya tha ? How all of a sudden she was feeling so drowsy and disconnected from the world ?" Rahul asked. Daya remembered that moment and said , " Haa itti thakti toh nahi kabhi ! Pata nahi uss din kya hua tha toh !" Rahul put on a more serious face and said , " I obeserved her closely that day. Her hands were shaking matlab they were like tremors. It was difficult for her to keep focus and be attentive. That's why to clear my doubts I took her blood for a test !" Daya was becoming more anxious by the minute , " Rahul tum exactly kehna kya chahte ho !" Daya asked. " Daya Amairaah us din thaki nahi thi. Uske blood reports confirm karte hai ki she has excessive amounts of a drug named zolpidem in her system. Zolpidem is a major component of Sleeping pills !" Rahul broke the truth. It came as a shock to Daya. It was like the earth beneath him shifted leaving him floating in air. " This is not the whole truth. Her System also contains Amphetamines. They are stimulants. She must be taking it to keep herself awake after taking the sleeling pills." Daya's eyes widened. The Sparks in his brain that were trying to connect the dots suddenly had a short circuit. He couldn't believe his ears. He wanted to say something but what should he say. His limbs were moving as if someone unlearned was trying to controll a robot.

Daya was at the loss of words. He just wanted to smack the brains of Amairaah. He got up and was about to leave for her house when he heard Rahul say again , " Daya , Ask Amairaah what exactly happened on the Day she got that leg injury ! Getting hit by a cutter is sure not the full story !" Daya couldn't take it anymore. Every thing was coming to him a lightning strick on his bare body.

( Amairaah's house )

It had good 3-4 hours but nothing had still came forward. Amairaah was still where she had started. She had nothing to go on. She was still turning pages when she saw a chit of paper that came flying down from between the pages. It was completely stained yellow. Something was written on it but it had completely vanished in the time course may be due to water. Cause by the looks of it this paper had been wet for a long period of time. Amairaah got up and took a pencil from the holder. She held it horizontally and completely shaded the paper.

As the words written in it were unfolding there was a pit inside her stomach. She finally found what she was looking for but was she satisfied. No she wasn't. Because when finally things had started adding up she finally felt that were better left untouched.

The paper showed the name Ramesh with contact number. The possibility was turning into a sure thing. Ramesh was her father's informer. But something was written beneath Ramesh. Amairaah couldn't make it out quite though. She tried. The firstetter was A , second was B third and fourth were inconspicuous and last letter was L. A,b and L what could these letter be ! Amairaah was thinking hard. The third letter was either d or g. If it was d , then abd and l. What could be spelt with abd and l.

"Abdul" Amairaah said out loud enough. Abdul was the name she heard when someone was constantly calling her and he kept saying Abdul ! Amairaah had thought that it was a wrong number. But looks like it wasn't. Either Ramesh knew Abdul or her father knew Abdul but one things had became sure. Neither Ramesh nor Abdul were a stranger to her family.

Amairaah cold stared at the paper parchment. Her lips paused at the place. Her mouth was slightly open and she was trying to breathe through mouth. Her eyes were not blinking that frequently.

All sorts of things started coming tonher mind. Why are these people trying to contact her now. These people knew that her father was dead. But still they were trying to talk to her.

Amairaah's leg slacked. She had no strength left in them. She took the support of same Almiraah and sat down.

She needed Shreya more than anything now. But was Shreya safe ? Let aside Abdul and Ramesh. But who was the third guy that day who had hit her with a knife.

Amairaah definitely had found out a very valuable information. But the moment she found out those , she seemed more lost

Only one thing came coming in her mind ,

A storm was on its way in her life and she was smacked right in the middle of it.

( Downstairs )

Daya entered the house like an angry young man. Anybody could tell that the breaking point of his patience had been crossed. He was ready to throw a punch at anybody who came in his way !

" Daya saab ?" Radhabai called out. Daya forced himself to calm down. In personal life Daya rarely showed any anger but Amairaah had pushed every button he had. He slightly rubbed his eyes with thumb and index finger and turned around.

" Ji ,Radha kaki ??" Daya asked. " Amairaah apne kamre me nahi bade saab ke kamre me hai. Pata nahi kyu college ke ate se hi wohi pe baithi hai ! 4 saal ho gye unhe uss kamre me jake . Aaj pata nahi kya kaam gir gaya !" Radhabai said.

Even Daya was surprised. Amairaah and Shreya both actually never visited their father's room. What urgent need suddenly arised in front of Amairaah to be in her father's room today. Something was seriously going in with her which she was hiding.

" Daya saab , movie dekhne ke din kuch hua tha kya Amairaah ke sath. Matlab aapko kuch boli thi kya woh ?" Radhabai again asked Daya.

Daya replied, " Nahi toh , kyu ?" Even Radhabai was curious now. " Nahi woh us din baad kuch alag bartaav karne lagi hai ! Humesha kuch na sochti rehti hai , gusse me bhi rehti hai !" Radhabai replied.

" Me baat karta hu usse !" Daya replied and proceeded towards the study.

( In the study )

Daya pushed open the door against a tide of object that laid around the other side. There were papers , books cd's scattered on the floor. Only one light was seen working. Under it was seen a very zoned out Amairaah. She was in her now-a-days usual position. Her legs folded and her hands hugging her knees. She was still in her jeans and white coat. Radhabai was right. Amairaah had went straight into this study. What was she searching ? Daya thought. He tiptoed his way through the mess trying not to put his feet on anything. In a few seconds he was by her side. Amairaah still hadn't noticed him She was still in her different zone.

" Amairaah ye sab kya hai ?" Daya asked. Amairaah was shocked on hearing some ones's voice. Color drained from her face and she became as white as a sheet of paper. Though shaking , she was still rooted to the spot. She was wide eyed , stammering , unable to speak . She started to edge backwards suddenly showing her deep fear. Her hands clenched with white knuckles.

Amairaah desparately tried to hide how fearful she was. She finally could controll the tremor in her voice. She was now able to consciously will her body movements that were shaky. She put on a smile on her face. But her perspiration was something that told the truth. Within few ninutes of seeind Daya, The underarns of her Tshirt were soaked in sweat.

" Kya kar rahi ho ye ? Woh bhi itne andhere me ?" Daya asked again. Amairaah was unable tonsay anything. " Sir ...woh...me..." Daya gave her his hand and said , " Achcha chalo pehle bahar aao ! Bhagwan jane kabse aise baithi ho. Woh bhi college ke kapdo me !" Amairaah took his hand and when she was out of the mess she saw the mess she had created. It was dark outside now. She could see it through the window.

" Ek kaam karo , Pehle jake fresh ho jao. Fir baat krte hai !" Daya said. Amairaah was still registering everything when Daya literally pushed her into her room.

( Downstairs )

Daya was sitting on the dining table waiting for Amairaah. He was angry ! He was damn angry. He had came in with a mind set of slapping Amairaah then and there. But when he saw her sitting on the floor he changed his mind suddenly.

" Khana laga du ?" Radhabai asked. Daya nodded. Soon after Amairaah came downstairs. She was looking much more normal than what he had seen her half and hour ago. " Aao beta khana kha lo ! Waise bhi aajkal thikse khana bhi nahi khate ho !" Radhabai said as she saw Amairaah. " Radhabai itta toh khati hu ! Aap bhi na !" Amairaah said with a bit of anger. " Amairaah , aise baat nahi karte bado se . Bachchi ho kya tum ? Ek hi baat kitne baar samjhani padegi ?" Daya said with not a very harsh tone but still a tone that sounded like scolding.

" Sorry !" Amairaah said. " Mujhe nahi Radha- kaki ko bolo !" Daya ordered Amairaah and she apologized to her. Radhabai served her the dinner and they were eating peacefully. When Daya realised that Amairaah had put her guard down slightly he asked Amairaah , " Waise Amairaah jis dinme tumhe Rahul ke pass leke gaya tha , us din kya khaya tha tumne ?" Amairaah was still thinking about all that she had found out and blidly said , " Sham me aapke sath hi toh deserts kha ke gayi thi sir !" Daya again asked her , " Uske alawa subah?" Now Amairaah felt a little but weird. " Are aisehi puchra hu , Radha kaki boli na ki tum aajkal thin se khate nahi ho karke ! "

Amairaah said " Breakfast me apple !" continuing her dinner. " Aur lunch ?" Daya asked further. Amairaah tried to remeber and then said , " Us din shyd workload bohot jyada tha toh lunch skip ho gaya tha !" Daya now started having anger issues. " Amu , agar maine tumhe firse jawab dene ka mauka diya toh kya tum yahi bologi ki sach bataogi !" Daya said with a firmer tone this time. Amairaah started wondering as too what he was exactly talking about. She was real careful about her dose of sleeping pills so that they do not appear in her blood. Might be kuch stimulants dikhe honge ,she thought. So to save herself for further agony she lied. " I might had have a few energy drinks !" Daya raised his eyebrows. " So one apple , no lunch , some tini-tiny desert for dinner and an energy drink ! Do you think that's healthy ?" He said. Amairaah lowered her eyes in an apologetic manner. Daya took out a white envelope from his pocket and said , " Waise Amairaah I have your blood report. Do you think you wanna answer my question once again ?"

Amairaah's heart raced. Her palms became sweaty and adrenaline raced through her body. She still wasn't sure if Daya was talking about the sleeping pills or not. And if he wasn't , then she didn't want to complicate matters more. So she played a safe game. " Jee matlab ?". Amairaah asked. " Agar me tumhara medicine cabinet kholu toh ,Should I find anything that isn't supposed to be there ?"

The cat was out of the bag now. Amairaah was sure of it. " Wohh.. Sl..sleeping pills aur...Aur... stimulants ."

Amairaah said with a cracking voice. Daya banged his spoon on the table with a large thud. Anger was now clearly visible in his eyes. Amairaah didn't have courage to look directly into them." Dattu !" Daya shouted. He asked Amairaah to tell Dattu about the bottle of pills and bring them here. As Dattu came Amairaah told him the place and he went for it.

" Seriously , I can't believe it ! I have been there for you so many times. I have saved you so many times. Hell ,I have even rocked to to sleep. And this is what the result is ! Do you even know how I felt when Rahul told me ki you are practically overdosing on on both of them !" Daya shouted

When Daya was angry ,everything was very very good but once he became silent hell broke loose. Even Radhabai was shocked. She wanted to ask so much questions to Amairaah but she remained silent. She just knew that she wasn't supposed to speak between Daya.

Dattu passed on the bottles to Daya. Daya opened the first one that came in his hand and shaked the bottle so that the pills came in his hand. There were still few of them remaining. A few remaining means many consumed.

Daya became silent. The silence that Amairaah hated. " You said you had faith in me and I took your word. You said you wouldn't do anything funny or dangerous and I trusted you there too. You said , trust me. Should I trust you Amairaah ? You put yourself in my place and tell me Would you trust the girl that's in front of me ?"

Tears flowed form her cheeks unchecked. Amairaah didn't cry out loud or say a word. She was too tired to do that. So she sat their still as a statue while the magnitude of her loss swept over her. Once again she had pushed away one of the most important person of her life.

And hearing the words of Daya , this time she was sure that he wouldn't come back. Why should he. He had given Amairaah so much and what she give him in return. Disaapointment.

Guess that's what Amairaah was good at. Hurting people , breaking trust and most importantly letting down the people that love.

Daya got up from his place and even without completing his dinner. He was leaving. He was leaving without even saying a word.

And Amairaah knew one thing. The person who leaves with anger,he returns back but the person who leaves in silence he never returnes . Amairaah saw her only support system leaving.

As Daya was leaving something positive inside of Amairaah died. His leaving was killing her soul just as a dagger is supposed to stop a beating heart.

( At night )

Daya was sitting inside the car for the past 2 hours. He was continiously wondering. Sleeping pills - that means Amairaah couldn't sleep. They had became such a compulsion because she even had started consuming the exact antagonist.

Daya said to himself , " I know your emotional pain Amairaah. I see it in your eyes , in your voice. How much hurt is in there in your words and how much it hurts to read them. Let me help you there. Just give me a chance !"

As Daya was thinking more and more , suddenly he saw the light of Amairaah's room being switched on. It was dark untill now. Someone entered the room. It must be Radhabai. She was knocking on something. Daya zeroed his eyes on that particular spot. What was happening ?

As he was trying to make out about the scene happening in front of him his one hand went to the dokr to open it.

Daya made his way through the hall to Amairaah's room. " I am coming in!" Daya said before entering. He just didn't want to enter at an inappropriate moment.

"Kya hua radha kaki ?" Daya asked. Radhabai said , " Pata nahi. Thodisi chillayi nind me aur achanak bathroom me hi jake baithi. Darwaza bhi nahi khol rahi !" Daya knocked the door one or two times. But still she wasn't opening the door. And that means only one option left. He asked Radhabai to move a little further as he kicked the door . With ine strong kick the door stood broken. Broken but open.

He saw Amairaah continuously putting water on her face. Daya pulled her outwards with his strong hands.

" Kya hua ?" He asked. Her eyes were completely swollen. Daya could tell that. He handed her to Radhabai and she made her sit on the bed. She asked Dattu to bring her some water.

Daya squated in front of Amairaah and Radhabai. He lifted her face by tapping her chin and again asked , " Kya hua ?"

After a few minutes of silence came a very low voice , " Shreya di kaha hai ?". Nobody had an answer to that. Daya high held head hung down as he said , " She is..She is safe..You dont have to worry about her !"

Daya signalled Radhabai to leave him alone sometime with Amairaah and Radhabai obliged.

Amairaah was sitting silently and Daya just shut the door for some privacy. He didn't lock it though.

He pulled out a chair from Amairaah's study table and sat on it in a reverse way. He kept his hands folded on the back rest of the chair.

" I am tired ! I need to sleep !" Amairaah said. " Nind ajaygi ? Sleeping pills ke bina ?" Daya questioned her with a very straight face.

Amairaah's arms at the side clenced the mattress. She knew she couldn't. She had to have them. But how could she tell him that.

" Nahi ayegi. Mujhe pata hai !" Daya said to her noticing her reactions.

Amairaah looked at him with helpless eyes.

" Goliyon pe apni life depend krne se better logo pe depened rehna hota hai . Ye kabhi dimag me nahi aya tumhare ?"

Amairaah was at the loss of words. And actually what would she speak. Her side was the lower one.

"Sau baar bol chuka hu ! Koi problem hai Amairaah toh aao mere pass ! Nahi ! Aapko toh kisi bade ke pass jane ke alawa ki sare solutions dikhte hai !" Daya continued.

He sat there for a minute and then said , " Jee toh kar raha hai jor se chata lagau ! And you deserved to be punished ! So what we are going to do ! You are going to be like this today ! You are your own devil and you have created this hell ! So you are going to live in it !" Daya said this and got up. He opened the door and left !

( Midnight )

Amairaah stared at the ceiling being flat on the bed. She was caught in the carasousal of thoughts. Every idea , every notion and every event that happened during the day was replaying in front of her eyes demanding analysis. And when she was mentally tired and was close to drifting off her anxiety would start all over again . Amairaah felt a blackness come over her. Like an blanket. But she didn't feel warm. She felt like a cold blanket being draped over her. She was shivering.

Daya very silently entered the room not making any noise. He knew that Amairaah was not fully asleep , so he was cautious that even the slighest amount of noise would wake her up. Very silently he pulled the chair back from the study table and arranged it in a reverse way. He sat down on it with his arms and head resting on the back rest.

Suddey Daya saw a shiver running down her spine. It was not cold. Neither the air conditioner was on with a low temperature setting.

Daya properly covered her with blankets and caressed her with his large loving hands.

He was sad. Extremely sad . But at this particular moment he couldn't do anything. So he let her sleep.

A long talk was surely on its way !!


	19. Chapter 19

@Apurva Vaingankar - ummm...ummm What do you think ?

@Sakshi B. - Thank you for staying tuned. love you too...

@Aditi - Seriously everything is a disaster now a days !! Thanks for the review.

@Laksara - Ek aur dareya part agya. Hope aapko pasand aye :-)

@Anonymus : Thank you.

@Sunshines : Thank you .

@Srikant : Lijiye aapke liye firse Dareya moments !

@Mystiques : Thank you.

Chapter 19

The little kid ate a little noisily and slurrped his soup like vaccum. Then without feeling any embarrasment wiped his mouth on the sleeves and finally showed signs of complete satiation.

Shreya laughed at that.

" Thank you didi !" He said. Shreya shook his hands like a grown up and said , " You are welcome Mr. Golu !" The kid's face beamed with pride. Shreya knew that kids sometimes liked to be treated as grownups !

" Didi ! Can I have some pastry also !" The kid asked again. ' Didi ' - Shreya remembered Amairaah. She smiled at the memories. What was the thing about Amairaah she still wasn't able to figure out. That girl actually attracted disasters. She had car accidents , she had arguments , she had her share if fights. But Shreya missed it. She missed clearing the mess.

" Didi...woh pastry !" The little kid said tugging Shreya's shirt.

So what was Shreya doing with this little unknown kid. She was relieving the memories.

( Flash back )

It was quite late at night. Most of it was a complete silence. Daya was sitting on a road side bench waiting for Shreya ! There was a moderate amount of wind. Not too less and not too much like a storm. Just perfect enough to play with Shreya's hair. Daya loved the moment when Shreya used to try very hard to controll her hair that were disturbed by the wind.

How jealous would Daya get that not he but the winds get to play with her hair.

Behind his bench was a very small coffee shop with a banner that said , ' Open 24 hours !' Well they needed such kinds of shop. Their duty timings were making it more and more difficult to spend time with each other so this was their meeting time now. Late night.

Daya looked at the watch. Shreya was late today. He had been waiting here for the past 20 mins. Suddenly his eyes fell on a small girl that was sitting on a compound wall on the other side of road. She was scrawny . Though she didn't look more that 10 years of age , she had an oddly grown up look on her face. Though she was clean she was wearing an odd assortment of clothes. They were worn and mismatched. Her sandals were scruffy and her toes hung at a good centimeters lenght from the footwear's end. Clearly they were too short for her.

From the appearance anybody could make out that she was from the slum. She was munching on something probably toast or biscuits.

Daya smiled at the little girl's cuteness. He signelled her with his hands to come near him. The girl nodded negatively. Daya laughed at that. He got up from his place and bought something from the coffee shop and went directly near the girl. He didn't say anything. Just started eating the pastry that he had bought.

The girl watched Daya with an awe. She was told not to talk with strangers and take anything from them. But the small dessert looked a way lot tastier than the cookie she had in her hand. The buttery sweet smell or should we say aroma wafted under her nose. Just like the way a finger of steam would travel to a nose in cartoon characters.

She wanted to eat to more than anything but then he was a stranger and more than that he looked rich. Would he allow a girl like her to take a bite from the same food.

Daya was smiling internally at the emotional struggle of the girl. Very slowly her slided the desert's paper plate to her side. The girl on seeing it looked at Daya. He happily nodded his head giving her the permission to eat it. As soon as he nodded the girl was on cloud nine. She happily dugged herself into the desert.

" Waise mujhe toh mere naye dost ka naam hi nahi pata ?" Daya said to the girl.

The girl looked at him and said , " Mera naam shreya hai ! Aur apka ?" There were butterflies in Daya's stomach on hearing the name. A large curve set across his face as he said , " Mera naam Daya hai !"

Shreya arrived at the decided spot , in front of the coffee shop. But Daya was nowhere to be seen. She knew she was late but Daya was not the kind of guy who would leave uninformed. She searched for him here and there and finally found two totally opposite person sharing food on the other side of road. One was tall , strong and in jeans and shirt and the other was a little girl who looked very fragile in worn out clothes. This was interesting - Shreya thought. She proceeded towards them. As she came closer she was hearing a cute coversation between a small girl and man who was trying to sound like a small boy !

" Hume chocolate pastry nahi milegi ??" Shreya said as she took Daya by surprise.

" Are Shreya tum kab aai ?" Daya said getting up and turning around. " Abhi aai Daya bas !" The little girl now felt as a third person . She felt like she was coming in between both of them. She quitly she started to move away from her spot. But as soon as Shreya saw that from over Daya's shoulder she went near her and picked her up and placed her in her lap.

" Ye jo ladka hai na , ye mujhe sirf coffee ke liye puchta hai !! Itta tasty pastry to kabhi offer hi nahi kiya !" Shreya said to the girl. " The girl laughed at that. She took a biteful of the desert in a spoon and fed Shreya with it.

Daya smiled the scene that was happening in front of him. He and Shreya were going to spend quality time alone after a long time. And Daya had just invited a small little girl to their date. If it would have been any other person apart from Shreya she sure would have been angry on him. But here was the love of his life quitely and lovingly spending time with this little girl.

What was in Shreya that she could speak the same language as that of Daya. The one which nobody was able to understand uptill now. To be around her was finally not being alone - just as all his life he had been isolated in a windowless room and a doorless house . And here comes a beautiful soul inside this cage singing the most beautiful song of his life that broke the walls and suddenly their was spring everywhere !!

( Present )

Shreya smiled at the memories. She missed her family. But for now she had to be head strong. She was on a mission and surely she was not going to let down her father and her mentor.

( Amairaah's house )

Amairaah woke up feeling tired. Her eyes looked like the ones that definitely needed at least 8 hours of more sleep. She tried to remember what day it was. And then the whole moments of the previous day flashed before her. "Ahhhhh !!!" She groaned and out her face in the pillow. Perhaps getting up was a bad idea. But then somebody knocked on the door. It must be Radhabai. It was time for her college ! Could she miss it today - Actually she could. She could miss it and sleep off the whole day. But if Daya comes to know that she was free the whole day then... that's a big no. So getting up and getting ready was the only option left.

How much hours of sleep she had - merely 2-3 hours. But she got up and opened the door. Radhabai just checked that she was awake and without saying any word got down to prepare breakfast. Right - Radhabai would also be upset. At that moment only Amairaah knew that it was going to be a stressful day. The stress spread in her mind like an ink spread on the paper. Amairaah took a deep ragged breathe before proceeding towards the morning chores.

After about an hour , Amairaah was back into the room. She tied her watch, took her apron and sthethoscope and put them in bag. She proceeded downwards for the breakfast that she was sure will be offered with a lot of anger along with love !

Amairaah sat on the table and a bowl filled with cornflakes was offered to her. This was cold hearted. She was used to eating some freshly made breakfast and today's breakfast surely didn't top the list.

" Dattu !" Radhabai said. " Ji Radhabai !" Dattu replied. " Humne toh suna tha ki sirf waqt hi ret saman hath se fisalta hai ! Kal toh rishte ko bhi hath se fisalte hue dekh liya !" Amairaah raised her eyebrows at that. She knew it was a taunt meant for her. " Humesha rishto ki qadar karni chahiye ! Aise log bohot milenge jo galti hone par maaf kar dete hai ! Par aise log bohot kam milte hai jo apno ki galti ko nibhate hai !" Radhabai continued. Well the morning was turning into a philosophy session for Amairaah. She got up from her place and headed towards the parking. But before she could leave the house , she was again attacked by a bumch of words. " Kuch logo ko toh ehsaas hi nahi hota apni galti ka ! Aur ek woh hai jo humesha dusro ki galtiyon ke liye pareshan hote rehte hai !" Okayyy... This was it for Amairaah . She hurriedly made her way towards the garage.

As she sat in her car she remembered the two names that she had found out a day ago. Ramesh and Abdul. In all the fiasco she had totally forgotten about them. She checked her bag for the chit on which their contact numbers were written. After some time of rummaging she finally found them. There was only one contact number. Whose it was - Of Ramesh or of Abdul. It was time to find that out. She dialled the number . It was out of range. Amairaah frustration increased. Not a single thing - Not a single thing was going her way. The emotional hurricane just began. She was so irritated of the things. What she had in hand - A sister who couldn't be contacted , A trusted man who is angry as hell with her , An informer because of whom she had nearly escaped death but who was also out of reach. Everybody Useless.

This was the worst. She was feeling sad about the things that she couldn't do anything about.

She started the car and made her way towards Kavya's hostel.

Amairaah was supposed to be at her college after picking up Kavya . But neither she picked her friend up and nor she was at her college. She was god knows where sitting alone. Well to add another thing to the list of what should not be done was that Amairaah was smoking again.

She inhaled the nicotine smoke slowly , feeling as though her system is responding to it. It had been a long time since she grabbed a last smoke. She felt delighted like never before.

Holding the smoke between her lips , her hands searched for her cell phone in her pockets. She dialled the last called number in her call logs . It was still out of range. Now she had nothing to go on.

Daya - What do to about him now ! Definitely need to say sorry - Amairaah thought. She knew she was wrong. She gave a thought about it. Was there any reason that could justify illegally using the pills. After some thinking she knew there was no excuse , no exit - passes as she called them. It was definitely going to be difficult encounter. But she couldn't do anything about it. Mostly it was because more than half of her energy was focused on the number that belonged either to Ramesh or Abdul ! But she was still not able to talk with either one of them. For now she didn't cared what was going to happen when Daya sees her . For a time being she just wanted to talk to any one of the new found guys and ask a hell lot of questions. What was Ramesh trying to tell her the other day ? Who was Abdul ? Amairaah was literally dialling that number every 15 minutes but still she wasn't getting any results. More importantly what was the thing that Ramesh warned her not to get any police involved !

Amairaah's head throbbed. The pain felt like someone had taken a knife to her skull. She lent her head against a tree nearby. Squeezing her eyes shut , she willed the pain to go away ! The rest of the world became detached . She couldn't hear any noises . Noises of birds chirping were abundant uptill now. But now the only thing she knew or she felt was pain.

Seriously who said that time is the answer to all questions. Time was an enemy for her these days. It travelled so slow when she wanted the day to just end . And when she wanted to stay in a particular moment Days would pass like seconds. Time had actually began to dissolve into itself becoming as shapeless as rain.

Time went by as Amairaah kept thinking and thinking and calling on the same number. Suddenly she heard the buzz of mosquitoes in her ear. She shooed them away but that awakened her to the present. The sun had sunken and the dusk was falling. The mosquitoes were out. Goose bumps were seen on her arms due to evening chills. The green shrubbery under her legs was almost looking black. Suddenly the whole palatte of the scene in front of her had changed. It was time she headed back to the house. Also she was in a totally unknown area. She had just arrived here driving pressing the accelator as much as she could and finally stopping when she was tired. Amairaah made her way back to the car.

( Amairaah house )

Amairaah parked her car in the garage . For one last time she dialled Ramesh's number. It ranged this time. Her hopes increased but after sometime it shattered as nobody asnwered it. She had a look at her face in the side view mirror and made her way towards home. She walked through the concrete pathway that was made between the lawn setting. As she was walking suddenly she heard a car honking. Who else bought a car inside the house she thought. Only 2 people were allowed to bring their car inside besides Amairaah and Shreya. One was Acp pradyuman. Amairaah was sure that this honking was not of ACP sir's . So that means only one person left. Amairaah knew this was going to happen one day or another so this time she was prepared for it. She just wanted to get over with it.

She had a look at perhaps the most angriest person on the earth. His eyes were narrowed , rigid , cold and hard. Well why wouldn't they be ? Amairaah had gone really far this time. Amairaah herself knew that she had gone really far this time. But this thing was that the Ramesh and Abdul issue was overpowering her mind for today. So here's what she had decided. She was plainly going to apologize to Daya. No tantrums no theatrics and no rude answers - Just a plain sorry ,hoping the discussion would end soon which would give her time think about how to contact Ramesh.

Daya signelled her by nodding his head to take the passenger seat. Without even looking here and there Amairaah obliged.

With ankles croosed and knees leaning around the centre console Amairaah watched as Daya started the engine. Amairaah ran her hair through her fingers. A whole new level of silence was about to begin. She rubbed her hands to brace herself for it. She looked sideways to observe the driver. By the looks of it he had every action planned ahead of him. She rubbed her palms against her arms to embrace the upcoming events that were to unfold.

The car stopped in front of Daya's house. The purr of the engine silenced. That means the only sound that was audible uptill now was gone. As Daya was getting ready to put himself out from the driver's seat , He heard " Sorry !" . Amairaah was apologizing with her head down and guilt apparently visible on her face. Daya sat down in his driver's seat again. " Do you think that's enough ?" He asked. Silence prevailed from Amairaah's side. " For me that's not enough ! Out and in the study now !" Well there went Amairaah's plan to the trash. It was surely going to be a long discussion. Her head flunged down as if it was the most heaviest thing in the world as she got out of the car.

Daya and Amairaah both entered the house and Daya switched on the lights. He directly went into the kitchen and opened the refrigerator. He gulped a large amount of water in one go. Looks like he was really thirsty. He loosened his uppermost button when suddenly he got a call. He picked it up and started the conversation. By the sound of it , it was an important call. Daya signelled Amairaah to proceed towards the study and Amairaah followed instantly.

Amairaah entered the study . It was dark at first. She switched on the lights. She had quite a time . She knew that from the way Daya was talking on the phone. So she started exploring the room. It had antic furniture with very simple designs. The furniture was high end and bespoke. Every piece was made up of hardwood. It showed an antique touch though the furniture bused was not more than a year old. She knew from what Shreya used to describe how Daya had built his dream house a year ago. A large book shelf was what attracted Amairaah. The books were arranged according to genre. Of course Daya was a man of discipline. There were mystery , mythology , literature , autobiographies. The books were infact adaptations from many languages including chinese to ancient Islam. Daya was an avid reader.

The study was perfect . Only a small thing was out of place in this wooden architecture. A small steel tray that was placed on table. It was the one that she had seen in the hospitals. It contained some gloves , some strange liquids , knifes and dropper. It looked like some forensic stuff. But were they allowed to bring evidences home. Probably not but what Amairaah had to do with that ! She moved on to more exploration. She started observing the photoframes put on the wall. Even the frames that occupied the photos were simple ones with no fancy border. Just a plain brown outline. Amairaah knew some of the people. There was Abhijeet ofcourse ! Then Acp sir , Then a photo with Abhineet and Tarika together . A photo from the orphanage . One with Rahul ,A photo with Shreya and then a photo with her. She stared at that photo.

Amairaah had just started to accept the comfort and care from Daya. But did she really deserve it ? No she didn't. She can be a good person but situations were not allowing her to be that. And there was a limit to people's understanding. How much they would take it. She was breaking every relationship that had grown stronger by the day. But she was helpless.

She got back to the chair and rested her head on the table. It had been a good 20-25 minutes but still there was no sign of Daya. So she just closed her eyes careful not to fall asleep. She didn't want to have a nightnare showdown at this time. And now she just waited for her scoldings.

After about 15 minutes more , Daya entered the room with a glass of milk and fruits in his hands. He knew that he had picked her even before she entered the house. So he was confident that Amairaah didn't have her supper. The way he saw Amairaah actually he had expected that. Being awake whole night and then sleeping in the most unusual places. He placed the bone china glass and fruit dish on the glass table making a sound in order to wake her up. That did the work. Amairaah straightened herself after seeing Daya. She rubbed her eyes and set her messed up hair. She saw the food that was placed in front of her. She was actually hungry but should she really eat at this time when Daya wanted to talk to her.

" Doodh piyo !" Daya said folding his sleeves before taking a seat on his large leather chair. It was tall glass of milk. Amairaah didn't want any more reasons to u _p_ set hin so she started drinking it.

Daya sat on the chair and busied himself in some filework. Actually he was waiting for Amairaah to finish the milk. But after about 3/4th glass Amairaah was full and she was ready to keep the glass on the table. " Drink all of it !" Daya said even without looking up from the file. Amairaah sighed and then took another sip. There was still some amount of it remaining but Amairaah was done so she was again placing the glass on the coaster. But before she could complete the action , Daya snatched the coaster from its place and said , " I said I want you to drink all of it !" Again a small kid behaviour. Amairaah hated this but she had no option. Although her stomach was protesting, Amairaah drank all of it.

When she was done , Daya kept the file back on the stack of file.

" Pehli goli kab li ?" Daya asked in a firm voice. Amakraah hesitated but answered , " 3 mahine pehle !" Not changing his tone by slightest , Daya again asked , " reason ?" Now what was Amairaah to say. She didn't want to disclose her thought process so she searched for the answer and after a minute or two she said , " I couldn't sleep because of overthinking !" Daya put his head down in frustration. He opened a drawer and took out a small glass jar from it. It contained almonds. He took 3-4 of them in his hands and forwarded them to Amairaah. " Ye lo badam khao aur kuch dhang ke akal lagake jawab do !" Daya said. Amairaah started to talk , " I tend to overthink things. It's the worst. It puts all the negative thoughts in my head. I make up scenarios in my mind. It always leads to bad moods. It makes me feel worthless and hopeless. This is not the end.

My fear manifest as my dreams. Do you know how it feels to lose someone everyday. It stops me from doing the daily chores as I am so scared of the outcome.

I hate it, I hate over thinking. But once it starts , it never seems to stop !" Amairaah said. She took a pause. " So to prevent this, I once took a sleeping pill. I didn't have a nightmare that night. So I took it again. And day by day the pills started controlling my mind , body and soul. If I ever forget to take them I fear I'll go insane. So yes I know I am addicted. But I dont have a problem."

The answer was kind of straight forward to Daya. "What do you see in your nightmare ?" He asked. Amairaah closed her eyes in order to forcefully replay one of the worst things in her life. A tear rolled out from one of her eyes. She shook her head trying desperately to avoid the scene unfolding in front of her. It felt like the tears behind her eyes were burning them like an acid. She couldn't breathe as she watched the killer run away, her lungs feeling powerless as she tried to take air inside it.

"Please !" She called out in pain. She called Daya and Shreya's name brokenly. Her voice failing to rise above a level of whisper . There was too much pain, too much heartache and she couldn't make it stop even if she wanted to. She just wanted it to end. Gasping as she felt herself lifted into a strong pair of arms, she kept her eyes closed out of fear of more pain, and sobbed. She was being cradled in someone's lap, the person talking to her, comforting her and she cried harder as she allowed herself to listen to the voice.

She felt as though she were breaking again, the person holding her now encouraging her to open her eyes, but she was afraid to do so. He loved her; he comforted her and gave her the affection.She felt his hand cup her cheek, his cool skin heaven against her overheated face and felt even more broken by how real it felt when he smoothed away her tears.

" Come on ! open your eyes " Daya said to Amairaah. Amairaah was back on the land. The sea had vanished completely. Instead large black eyes filled with love and compassion were staring into hers. But he was dead a minutes ago. How can he be alive. She moved her eyes around the room and confirmed that she was back to reality. The only few words that Daya could gather was sea , killer , His name and Shreya. " Amairaah , listen to me. I am standing on a boat in a sea with water everywhere . What happens now ?"

Amairaah tried to move away from his embrace. Of all the things this was the last one that she wanted to do. " Sshhh, I just need to repeat what you saw happening with me !" Daya said softly.

" You died like Dad !" Amairaah said with a broken voice even not able to connect the sentence properly.

So this is what affects Amairaah so much. Daya thought. And since Shreya has been to the mission.It isn't difficult for her to imagine her in placeve of her mother.

The pain was too much to take and so came the sleeping pills.

Her eyes blinked open slowly, the movement difficult as her eyelids felt lead-weighted and she sniffled as she looked up at him through blurred vision. He was rocking her gently, her body cradled in his lap.

"It didn't _work anymore. The sleeping meds used to keep me asleep, keep me from crying out, but Shreya's having to wake me up again. She isn't getting any sleep at all. I'm putting her in danger because I can't keep quiet at night. I'm scared of what might happen if she gets called out somewhere and is too tired because of me._ I thought Maybe if I take both kinds, maybe that will keep me quiet."

Amairaah said after her vision became slightly clear.

" Why didn't you come to me or Shreya or infact anybody !" Daya asked not raising his voice to the slightest.

" I don't know !" Amairaah replied.

Amairaah's heartbeat and breathing had fallen into a steady rhythym. Daya petted her hair and smoothed the drying tears from her cheeks. Rubbing her back by his arms he asked , " Do you want anything to eat ?" Amiraah replied nevatively. So he let her lay in his lap giving her all the affection he could. Finally he was satisfied that Amairaah had opened up about her nightmares.

He didn't knew how but he was going to fix this !


	20. Sorry guys

Hey guys ,

I am extremely extremely sorry for being so out of line...

I really really deserve being punished for this.

My life also had some really bad downs but now I am up and back ...

Really feeling happy to be back even though I am writing just an apology letter.

I know some of how had been waiting for me to update and I have miserably failed all of you..but don't worry I would give all of you people an update as soon as possible.

At the end , I wanna thank all of you for reading this story and stiil waiting patiently for its update..

Thank you for your love and support...

Just 1-2 days untill next update...

Sorry guys extremely sorry :-(


	21. Chapter 20

Chapter 20

Aditi - You dont know how happy you made me by writing a review. Seriously what would I have done without you.

In fact many a times I think that my whole reason of continuation of the story is you. Love ya..

nina js : Thank you nina..Thank you for the love you showed even after such behavior of mine..

Tara : Thank you Tara...Lots of love to you

Guest ( April 23) : You know what made me happy that even If I am to start the story again there are people who actually wanna listen.

Guest ( April 1 ) - I am so sorry dear. Just for a time being couldn't find out the required time.. But here is a long update for you. Hope you are still there to read it.

Guest ( March 26 ): So so sorry for abandoning the story in between.But just couldn't do it anymore after opened my email and read all the reviews

Guest ( March 15 ) : Dont worry now I wont leave the story in between.

Vaishnavi ( Feb 4th) : Hey updated quite late but here it is..

Guest ( 26 sept) : Sorry sorry.. but here is the update

Guest : (21 July ) Here you go with the next update.

Charu : ( If you are still reading this :-( ) You will definitely get to read what you want..Just keep reading

Laksara : Again...If you are still reading this story laksara. I have missed you guyz like crazy thank you for all the support uptill now .

Sakshi B : Sorry sakshi.. Disappointed you in many many ways but I hope you come back and read the complete story someday.

Hey guys just wanted to write a little note. I have wriiten something after a very long time . So it might happen that some of you would think that the chapter isn't upto the mark but Please bear with me. It will definitely get better.

..In the serenade of the black , the stars are the choir . They are the lights that sing in infinite pattern. Sometimes the eyes need the music and Sometimes very few are that wise to realise that the darker the night the sweeter the music...

Amairaah wrote on a page that lay on her table. She couldn't help but compare the night with her own state of mind. Something was bothering her , Something was hurting her. But she couldn't put a finger on it. Something felt so wrong ,So invalid . She tried to reason this unbearable burning but couldn't find any. She knew there was light in the darkest corner somewhere..She knew the stars were there somewhere but just as she wrote .. Was she wise enough to ignore the dark and dance in the light ??

( Flashback )

"In our sleep we are children again. We think of the things that have passed and will never happen again. We dream about the things that we feel might happen. Let the past lay in the past. But be sure of one thing , The future is going to be fabulous. I know this not because some kind wodoo trick but I know it because ' You are going to make it fabulous '. Of course it is uncontrollable . But do you know, This is the main thing because of which we lose our peace of mind. We try to take charge of the uncontrolled things out there and ignore the things that can settled very easily in here. " Daya said looking towards Amairaah with his penetrating eyes . Amairaah's sobs had stopped and she was back on her chair. She looked not completely okay , a little tired with her head almost down . Daya was affectionately stroking her hair while talking to her. He sat besides her or in other words never left her side. Amairaah quite didn't understand what Daya was talking so she looked up towards him. Daya gave her a sheepish smile. He continued , "You cannot controll the chaos that is out there ." Daya said pointing towards Amairaah's head. " But the chaos that lies in here ..." Daya said now pointing towards Amairaah's heart ." This chaos here is a very manageble thing. You know the caretaker of my orphanage always used to say...There are so little things that you see with your eyes and so many more with your heart. I as a tough, stubborn boy didn't believe that. But the more I lived my life the more I realized how much that statement was true. Amairaah smiled at Daya... She was kind of relaxed. Afterall a heavy weight was lifted off her shoulders. She and Daya were now sitting in the most relaxed position . Daya was telling her no matter what her mind tells her , she needs to be firm in her heart . Afterall he was right. Sometimes you know the earth exist not because you see something but just because of the feel of ground beneath or the feel of the wind ruffling .

( Present )

Amairaah and Daya had talked a lot that night. The same night Amairaah had vulnerably opened up in front of him. Daya was not worried about about all the physical health stuff. He wasn't worried about the withdrawal symptoms from which Amairaah would suffer once she was taken away from all the pills. Or maybe he was worried but just was very good enough at not showing it on his face. He only cared that no matter whatever happened or whatever had troubled Amairaah , She should emerge a srronger , a braver or a wise girl from that. Amairaah was mostly at the listening end that day.

( Flashback )

Daya continued , " So from now on , Me and you both are going to take a step back ." Amairaah's eyes scrunched in fear as to what he was meaning. Daya once again affectionately said , " Dont worry , I am not going to leave you. But from now on when you are stressed , you are going to take a step back. When something hits you , you will not go running after sleeping pills , stimulants or cigarettes. You will take a deep breathe - Inhale and exhale. You will remember who you are and why you are here. And you will remember one very important thing - In this world you are not given anything unless you are strong enough to withstand it. No matter how difficult or tough it is..but you will love your life . Okay ??" Amairaah nodded peacefully. She had thought worse about today's night but it had ended very smoothly.

"Mujhe laga aap bohot gussa honge !" Amairaah couldn't help but speak about this thing. Daya smiled and said , " Gussa toh hu bohot , Kal shayad koi crimial ko jarurat bhi nahi par jor ka chata pad jaye. Par gusse me ake insan kya kya soch sakta hai ya kar sakta iska tumse bada example kaun hai " Daya said little jokingly and even Amairaah laughed.

" So Amairaah Sharma " Daya continued, "What did you learn today ?" Amairaah straightened herself and said , " You don't imagine the future on the basis of your past ." Amairaah searched her mind for another thing. " You are in controll of all the chaos that's within you." Amairaah smiled at two happy realizations. " Why do you always seem to forget the last and the most important one ?" Daya asked getting up from the chair and walking towards the door of the study. Amairaah couldn't quite make it out for the last one. " Why do you always seem to forget that there are people for you ?"

Daya asked the most important question.

"I know you like to solve all your problems on your own. And that's why I have, with a very calm mind given you the liberty of doing that from now on. But when I tell you to take a step back I need an assurance that you would deal with them in a logical , civilized way and not by running behind the things that harm you in the most stupid way. Okay ??"

Amairaah nodded with affirmation. "Mujhe haa sunayi nahi diya !" Daya said expecting something more than a nod.

" I understand sir !" Amairaah replied a little louder toh Daya who was standing at the door now. He smiled contently and said , " Chalo jao ab bhago , Mujhe bohot kaam hai aaj !" Amairaah laughed and got from the seat. She gave a hug to Daya and left . " And please search for some good options other than sleeping pills." Daya said to the retreating figure of Amairaah.

The storm had settled flat. And Amairaah was greatly thankful to Daya that he had given freedom to her . Finally she could be on her own with the knowledge that if something happens she has the people on whom she can lean on.

( Present )

Amairaah just finished writing something on the paper. She had tried taking up different hobbies. So that her mind was utilized all the time. She was always fond of reading books and poetry. She started indulging in that. Deep down she knew that Daya has suspected about her leg injury. He just didn't bring that topic on that night.

Amairaah had also tried the contact number that she had found in her father's study. But She couldn't get a hold of it.

So at present she had no leads for going on. So she had decided to let the matter be.

Amairaah was deep in her thoughts when the buzzer of the extension phone started on like a rattle snake. She scrunched her face on hearing the sound and very lazily she got up from her place to pick it up.

"Hello...!!" The person behind the fone said. Amairaah's heart skipped a beat. This hello was like a silver melody through the dark skies. It came from a person that was off the radar for quite some time now. The voice of Shreya was finally being heard. " Dii ??" Amairaah asked. " Kaise hai ? I have missed you so much !" Came from the other side. " Kaha ho aur kab aa rahe ho ?? Aapke bagair nahi raha jara !" Amairaah said with a slight cry in her voice. " Bas aa hi rahu beta.. Mera kaam almost ho hi gya hai !" Amairaah heaved a sigh of relief. The person she had been desperately waiting for was coming back after all these days and that too coming back safely.

Shreya enquired about everyone and the conversation ended.

The tension that had kept her up for straight for so many days melted into nothing. With just plain PJ's Amairaah sat on the couch for some time. She replayed the conversation in her mind for 2-3 times.

Daya was right afterall why to compare the past with the present.

Like a drunk man she stumbled on her bed . Her body was unwinding now and her brain was now shutting down.

The bad days had passed.

Amairaah's heart beat in accordance with her slow shallow breathe. Serenity was plastered on her face as she slept. At peace her conscience swirled in dreams oblivious to physical world.

The fone beeped. It suddenly put Amairaah out of the deep slumber that she was in. It was a message from an unknown number. It read , " Hotel Heritage embassy ke piche kal sham 5 bje. Akele ana...R."

Something clicked inside her. Like an engine shifting to a higher gear. The message was probably from Ramesh cause it read R at the end of it. He had finally came out of the dark. Should she tell Daya despite the fact that she had been called alone. Could she risk it ?

Amairaah finally decided that she could go alone with a promise to herself that she wouldn't do anything stupid.

( Next morning )

Amairaah came down at the breakfast table with mixed feelings. At one point she was happy that Shreya was going to come back in a week or so. But looking at another matter she was just too unsure of the feeling of meeting Ramesh.

She was actually too scared to try and too scared not too. And the fact that he had mentioned her to come alone made things more complicated.

Amairaah was actually tired of lying to Daya but she had no options. But at least this time she had promised herself that she wouldn't do anything stupid.

She ate her breakfast and proceeded towards college.

College was a slow day today. Of course it was going to be. Amairaah still thought that time was her enemy. Now she just had to manage one thing. College was out at 6:00 and she needed to leave the college at 4:30 to meet Ramesh. She dialled Kavya's number and asked her if she was free in her department. Kavya answered very quickly and Amairaah left to meet her.

" Sun can you manage in my place if I left 1:30 hrs before ?" Amairaah asked Kavya.

"Waise toh kuch problem nahi honi chahiye. I'll manage. But tu jaa kaha rahi hai ?" Kavya asked.

"Woh bata nahi sakti abhi...bas sab thik se sambhal lena..I 'll be out at 4:30 !" Amairaah replied. They talked about few more important things and then They both left for their respective departments.

It was finally 4:30 . Amairaah packed her stuff and very carefully left. She reached the car and finally had deep breaths. In her mind she had decided that she was doing this no matter what.

She sat in the car and turned her GPS on. She searched for Hotel Heritage Embassy and started her engine.

At exactly 4:50 Amairaah had reached the hotel embassy. She parked her car somewhere under a tree and started her walk ' behind the heritage embassy ' as it was mentioned on the message. She finally reached a street that had definitely seen better days. It looked like the street hadn't seen any laughter since many days . The road that lay before her was like a tarmac ribbon: albeit ,one had been worn overtime. Their was a white line in the centre , relatively unbroken to the scarred road that was filled with potholes on both sides. There was no one there. But somebody was watching her she was sure of that. From what her father told her about all the spies and espionage business she just knew one thing, that you are always being watched.

"Left !" A man came very close to Amairaah and almost whispered the direction in her ear. A shiver ran down her spine as she felt someone standing very close to her. Amairaah couldn't even see the face of this person. Just the back of a man walking in light colored pants and shirt.

She walked straight and searched for a left turn if she could find any. After about 5 minutes of walking she found one. This street was even quiter and derelict. Amairaah walked towards a pile of garbage that she could see.

As she reached the pile she found man standing behind it. His face was filthy but there was a relief in her eyes. Relief because Amairaah had made it. And she had made it alone.

" Ramesh ! " Amairaah said to that man. He just nodded . " Mere pass time bohot kam hai lekin dhyaan se suno ! Ahmedabad court 4 saal purana case matlab tumhare maa aur baba ka case firse open krne wala hai. Jin logo ko 4 saal pehle pakda gaya tha unke rihayat ke liye kuch logone plea dali hai." Ramesh said. " Toh fir abhi kya hoga ?" Amairaah asked . " Jo mujrimoki rihayat chahte hai woh bohot khatarnak log hai. Woh rihayat ki case jitne ke liye kuch bhi kar sakte hai." Ramesh tod Amairaah. " Me samjhi nahi kuch !" Amairaah asked with confusion. " Tum hi socho Amairaah , Court me koi case jitne ke liye sabse badi chiz hoti hai saboot. Aur saboot me bhi sabse badhkar hota hai koi gawah. Agar un logone gawah ko hi apne raste se hata diya toh unke liye jeetna kuch bhi nahi. Tumhari case me sabse bada gawa kaun hai ?". Amairaah gulped down and said scarily , " Mai !" The earth underneath her feet felt like it just disappeared. " Ek aur baat Tumhari didi ko bhi kuch kam khatra nahi hai. Unlogo ko yeh bhi pata hai ki tumhari behen tumhare liye sabse badhkar hai. " Amairaah's heartbeat increased . What was she supposed to do after hearing all of this. Hell what was she even supposed to think after all of this. " Ab mujhe kya karna hoga ?" Amairaah asked Ramesh. But Ramesh put a scarf on his face to hid it and said , " Yeh batana mera kaam nahi. Mujhe tumhe chetavani deni thi maine de di" Saying this he started to leave. " Yeh Abdul kaun hai ?" Amairaah asked with a stern voice. " Aur mujhe chetavni dene tumhe kisne kaha tha ?" Ramesh stopped in his tracts . He just turned his back a little and said " Abdul tumhare Papa ka naam tha. Rajasthan border pe koi secret mission pe gaye the tob woh Abdul naam se raha karte the. Apne jaan pe khelke unhone meri jaan bachayi thi. Bas aise sochlo ki unki jaan toh nahi par unke beti ki jaan bachana chahta tha. Mujhe laga shyd tumhe Abdul naam ka kuch andaja hoga..isiliye Abdul ke naam se itte baar fone karra tha tumhe ." Saying this he left.

What would you do if you came to know that there are people that might kill you. That there are people who would do anything just to hear that you are dead. The things that Ramesh told her peirced through her brain and just tore her heart into peices. No matter how much she would try to get her way out of her past ,the past would bring her back in. Aside from the beat of her heart , no muscle in her body moved. But for a time being she didn't care about herself. If something happens to her there are people here with her. She just cared about her sister . Although Shreya had called the evening before ,Amairaah didn't have a slightest idea of where her sister actually was and what day and time she would actually return. So she started her car and made way towards her house. All that her mind thought was to try to call on the number from which Shreya had called. If luck was on her side maybe she could get a hold of her sister and warn her about the happenings.

Amairaah raced her way home. She just wanted to talk to Shreya and when she comes she would tell everything to Daya.

Amairaah parked her car as she reached home. As she got out her her car she realized that the whole house was submerged in darkness. Maybe Radhabai and dattu went out. But they never did without informing her. And then all sorts of negative things came inside her mind . She started calculating the chances of some bad guys being present their. Should she enter the house or should she just leave. But then suddenly the landline in the house ranged. She just shivered at the sudden sound in complete darkness. She waited for it to be completely silent. But as soon as it was silent , it started ringing again. This happened 2-3 times more. Maybe Shreya was calling her. She thought. And the second thought that flooded her mind was maybe this was a last chance to talk to her sister as she had no contact no. of hers.

So chanting God's name in her mind she carefully opened the locked door.

Their dark hall looked out of time. The whole room looked like it was covered in large velvety black curtains. There was an very noticeable restlessness present in that room. The kind that made her very uneasy. The fone had became silent. And it didn't ring again.

Now Amairaah came to know about the planning. The fone was a way of luring her inside the house. She was being trapped. Where was Radhabai and dattu ? Were they safe ? Should she run from the house even before searching for them.

"Radhabai...Dattu ...!" She called out once. " Radhabai ...Dattu..." Amairaah called out once again after she got no answer from the first one. And with every absence of answer her feet were moving backwards towards the door with an intention of running away .

One last time she thought and then she would run away. " Radhabai...Datt.." Amairaah couldn't even finish the name as she crashed with someone behind her.

She crahsed and fell on the floor. A flower vase beside just shattered into pieces as it accompanied Amairaah down the floor. And then she heard what she was most afraid of. She heard the sound of gun being loaded...

Was this the end ??


	22. Chapter 21

Nina js : Another interesting twist and turn for you :-))

Guest : Here's an early update for you : ))

Guest : Thank you for welcoming me back. Here is the next chapter. Tried to give it asap.

Msp : Thank you for the thoughtful review. Stay tuned for further updates

Guest : Thank you.

Aditi : Additti...thank for being always there me. Lets find out if amu really collided with Daya.

Charu : Hey thank you for caring about me. I am really fine now. Well you can always write what you expect..May be I can incorporate your ideas too.

Laksara : Laksara , So glad that you still read the new chapter. I was dancing in mind like crazy when I got your review. Thank you for still sticking to this story.Here is just another looonng chapter for you.

Sakshi and Apurva..I know you guys are probably not reading this story anymore but just a note for you that I miss you and hope that any day just any day may be days or months from now you come and complete this story. You deserved to know what happened to Amairaah . So Let's see if you get this msg.

Amairaah crashed on the floor accompanied with a flower vase that was besides her. Then she heard the sound she had always feared the most , the sound of a gun loading.

Was this the end ?

Adrenaline flooded Amairaah's system. Her heart was beating like it was going to explode. The eyes as wide as they could get and the body wanting to run away towards safety. But instead of moving even a bit she remained pinned to where she was. Lets face it , there was nothing more she could do.

So she just stood there waiting for her fate to do things. But fate was as cruel as death , Amairaah knew that first hand. Her fate had been holding demons to her neck so tight that air was being squeezed out of her. Of course she was waiting for her fate to turn around. But the fate was unstoppable. Amairaah closed her eyes waited for something to happen.

Suddenly she felt an orangish hue behind her eyelids. She not only saw the bulb flickr but she felt it too.

" Kya chal raha hai ye ?" Someone shouted. It was a familiar sound. Of course, It was Radhabai.

" Itte light kyu band rakhe hai Shreya ?" Radhabai asked.

Wait , Shreya ??..Did she say Shreya ? How come she said Shreya ?" Amairaah clearly opened her eyes and saw what was happening.

" Kya Radhabai aap bhi ! Kitna achcha dara rahi thi me amu ko ! Sab plan hi chaupat kar diya !" Shreya said to Radhabai. Amairaah was more of shocked or more of relieved to see her sister in front of her.

" Aeeyy , Shreya..ho gya na bachpana kitna daraogi aur Amu ko ?" Daya's voice came from behind.

" Waise manna pdega , usko aisa lagra tha ki bas abhi goli chalti !" Daya came from god knows where with a laugh plastered on his face.

Amairaah took some time to register what was happening. But once she did She just got from the floor and looked towards Shreya.

And at that moment , Amairaah had made peace with her nightmares. The chaos in her heart had settled flat . Though Shreya was smiling at her it was as if her life was smiling at her back.

Amairaah made her way towards her and hugged her. In the embrace of her sister the world stopped still on her axis. There was no time , no wind and no rain. Amairaah's mind was at peace. Though Shreya had been out for few weeks it had been years that Amairaah hadn't hugged Shreya like this. Undemanding , Unselfish and pure - thats how the moment stood still.

Even Shreya was shocked at such behavior of Amairaah. She had expected an all smiles and a good welcome but this was the best. She turned her head towards Daya and asked if anything had happened .

Daya being Daya looked down and smiled. It was not like he had to hide something from Shreya . It was just that he wanted her to embrace the moment just as Amairaah did. So he just nodded his head in a way that told Shreya to go with the flow.

So Shreya hugged back Amairaah and held her in a warm embrace making her acquinted wih all the love she had for her sister.

The hug broke after a few minutes when Amairaah was satisfied. Amairaah sat down on the couch behind her. Finally relief washed her face.

She saw Shreya and Daya hug too. Daya hugged Shreya back with equal affection. Though all this days Daya hadn't shown even a slightest bit on his face about how he was worried for Shreya , he couldn't hide his emotions today. The smile that could be seen on his face showed that a heavy weight was lifted of his chest today. Amairaah smiled to herself looking at them. And then all of a sudden she saw Daya's one hand asking her to join them. Amairaah denied at first because she just didn't want to disturb the loving movement between them or could she ??? She thought for a second but the next minute she couldn't resist and she found herself in the warm embrace of her gaurdians.

Their was this hug of gentle arms that gave her a space to breathe and then from the other side there was a hug from stronger arms that at every movement told your body , brain and the soul that they are with you . Always. And Amairaah loved both of them . One was the softest duvet and the other was the strongest human sheild.

All three of them suddenly became aware when the door bell rang. Daya knew it was Abhijeet and Tarika. Dattu opened the door and welcomed them.

" Are Shreya , itna achcha din hai. Ghar ke sare lights kyu band krke rakhe hai ?" Shreya was at the loss of words for this. And then Daya laughed looking at Amairaah and making fun of her. Amairaah threw a pillow at him and leaving the 4 friends to have a time she proceeded towards her room.

( Amairaah's room )

As soon as Amairaah stumbled on the bed, Reality hit her. She just remembered the conversation she had with Ramesh. And then the fear gulped her chest down. She needed to tell Shreya and Daya everything. But then she remembered The friends were having a good time down there. Also she just didn't feel that this was the appropriate moment to barge in disturb everybody's peace of mind. They were relaxed after many weeks.

So Amairaah decided that she would just sleep for the time being and have a good talk with Shreya at night. And within no time Sleep overtook her.

( Terrace )

The fading light also meant the fading of warmth. Wintry air swirled around the atmosphere taking in every bit of warmth it could. Daya who was sitting besides Shreya on the swing tightened his hold on her , giving her every warmth he could.

Shreya also tightened her hold on Daya's jacket which sometime back Daya had persuadingly wrapped around Shreya. She tucked her chin in the nape of her gentleman and inhaled in the warmth of the perfume which she had missed for many weeks.

" Bohot yaad ati thi aapki Daya !! Bohot miss krti thi me aapko !"

Daya very lovingly took a lock of her hair put it behind her ear.

Shreya had expected that they would talk a lot today. Who wouldn't have ? She had a lot to tell and obviously Daya would have a lot to tell. She was doing her part but Daya , he kind off seemed silent.

So Shreya didn't force him. Instead she became as silent as Daya.

And the silence , it was comforting in its own way. It spoke for itself.

After a few minutes of silence passed. Daya took Shreya's hand in his and put a ring in her fingers.

There was the moment finally. Shreya's face went blank with confusion. Like her brain cogs couldn't take in information to process the things that her wide eyes had seen. Every muscle of the body just froze before a grin crept onto her face. It soon travelled from one side to another showing every single tooth. Daya registered Shreya's shock and went near her. As Daya neared her , she felt shivers down her spine.

Shreya could feel the heat growing on her cheeks. By now they must be beyond an attractive rosiness. Daya could tell by looking at her cheeks that how much she liked him. Her even skin tone with a rosy look , it was kind of cute.

Daya brought his lips very near to her ear. Shreya's heart beat incresed , and with a very masculine voice he whispered

" To love and to cherish,

For better or for worse,

In sickness and in health,

For richer or poorer,

Forsaking all others,

Till death do us apart ."

And thus they finally put a name to their relationship.

Shreya held Daya's hand very tightly and smiled. " I choose you !" She said. " And I will choose you over and over again. Without a pause ,without a doubt and within a heart beat. I will keep choosing you.

And suddenly everything around them changed. One look at both of their eyes , anybody could tell that the smile they contained was from a tremendous happiness that lied within.

Shreya was on cloud nine. She had suddenly met the right person. And suddenly her life improved. Closed doors had opened and new relationships had blossomed. Goals were reached and prayers had started to answer.

( Morning )

Amairaah woke up due to the smell of freshly brewing coffee. Sleep still seemed heavy on her eyelids. And then she realized that she had slept the whole night. She buried her her head in frustation . God she needed to talk with her sister. How can she be so stupid.She cursed herself of how stupid she was. She couldn't sleep when just the thought of Shreya being in danger was in her head. And now when Both of them are in actual danger she slept so peacefully. How idiot can she become. She checked the time. It was still 7:30. So she ran towards Shreya's room. It was empty.

Dattu came up at that moment and handed a chit to Amairaa and said , " ye badi did aapke liye chod ke gyi hai !". Amairaah opened the chit and read , " Hey kumbhkaran ki nind wali ladki , ACP sir is back in town toh breakfast unke sath krne jaa rahi hu aur wohi se direct bereau. Sham me late hoga. Lekin here's a thing raat me dinner krne kahi bahar jayenge. I need to tell you a lot. Chalo bye . Raat me ready rehna ."

" No..no..no.. " Amairaah thought. She needed to talk to Shreya . And she needed to do it now. Amairaah picked up the fone and dialled Shreya's number. She waited and waited until , the operator's recorded message told her that the fone was switched off.

( ACP's house )

"Sab thik raha ?" ACP sir asked Shreya. Shreya smiled and said , " Haa sir , sab bilkul thik tha. Mission 100 % kamiyaab raha with no casualties reported." ACP nodded his head. He was proud of the girl that was sitting in front of him. With so little experience so had accomplished so much. " Amairaah ko bohot yaad ati thi tumhari. " Acp sir said to Shreya. He told him how once all of a sudden in the middle of night she had called him to enquire if her sister is alright. Shreya smiled at that. She then looked at ACP sir and said. " Aapko pata hai sir , ye mission pe jane se pehle matlab aise kuch problem nahi tha par fir bhi kahi na kahi hum ek dusre ke sath comfortable nahi the. Par ye mission se ane ke baad ekdumse aisa lagra ki , The ice has melted between both of us. Jiska me itte salo se intejaar kr rahi thi us tarike se Amu ne kal mujhe apnaya.

It was like I came back from the mission but Amairaah finally returned home."

ACP smiled at Shreya's realization and said , " Me bhi Amairaah me ye badlaavv dekh ke bohot khush hu !" They finished their breakfast and then ACP ordered his house maid to pour in some coffee. " Iska sabse bada credit Daya ko jata hai ! Amu hai badi badmash par Daya usse ek kadam age hi nikla. " ACP smiled at that. " Bich Bich me fone karta tha mujhe ekdum bachche saman ! Sir Amairaah ne aise kiya ab kya karu." ACP sir smiled while telling the little Fiasco's that Amairaah had created. Although it looked like ACP sir was always busy in his duty , he had kept a proper watch on Amairaah through Daya all these days.

Shreya was suddenly lost in her thoughts after hearing Daya's name. She remembered yesterday's night. But she controlled herself cause she knew that she would die of embarassment if she started to brush again.

" Sir , woh aapse kuch jaruri baat krni thi !" Shreya said to ACP sir. ACP sir's playfull mood changed to a serious one in no time. " Aisi koi serious baat nahi hai sir bas woh aapko batana tha , batana nahi in fact permission mangni thi ki..." Shreya said to ACP sir. " Kis chiz ki permission Shreya ?" ACP asked knowing very well what she was trying to say. " Sir woh baat ye hai ki Daya..." Shreya's hinderance could be sensed every moment she was speaking.

So Shreya closed her eyes and without taking a pause spoke , " Sir , Daya kal aye the aur unhone prupose kiya hai aur maine haa kardi !" ACP smiled at the fear that Shreya was holding behind her eyes . " Mujhe pata hai Shreya sab . Itta darne ki baat nahi." ACP replied very calmly. "Tumhe puchne se pehle Daya Abhijeet ko lejar yaha aya the meri permission lene. Daya toh mujhe bilkul apne bete jaisa hai. Aur tum toh beti hi ho meri. Mera vishwas karo , Daya bohot hi achcha ladka. Tumhe usse behter aur use tumse behter koi nahi milega. Aur agar tum dono ek ho jao to mujh se jyada khushi kisiko nahi hogi." And finally the verdict was passed. Shreya had worried all way long about what her father like figure would say in this matter. But as she had thought last night. Prayers had started to answer.

After some time Shreya took ACP sir's leave and left for the bereau directly. As she parked her car , Tarika jumped , literally jumped out of nowhere and screamed in happiness. " Mrs Daya , kabse tumhe call kar rahi hu. Kaisa dabba fone hai tumhara. " Shreya covered her mouth on hearing the words " Mrs Daya". She just had kept the news to her close friends. Even Amairaah didn't know uptill now because she was fast asleep yesterday night and today's morning. " Sshh !! Dheere pagal ho gyi hai kya ? Bilkul dheere !" Shreya said covering Tarika's mouth. " Aur fone...fone toh thik hai tumhara ek bhi call nahi dikha mujhe. Ek sec let me check." Saying this Shreya took her cell phone out from the car and clicked any button. But it didn't respond. She did it again. But it didn't respond. " Shit..Lagta hai charging khatam ho gyi hai. Isiliye switched off aa raha tha. Bereau me jake lagati hu." With that they both happily marched their way towards the bereau.

( Amairaah's house )

Amairaah paced in the dining room of her house. She had tried to get hold of Shreya for many times now. She had even once called the bereau but some receptionist had siad that she was in a meeting with DCP.

Though she knew that both were surrounded by protective people everywhere, Amairaah was still anxious. It was like an electrical storm in her brain that was quite painful. The feeling was different from headache and Amairaah was feeling intense sorrow. She had an intention that something was going to go wrong. It was a sort of frozen panic with nowhere to go.

" Breakfast tayar hai beta aapka !" Radhabai said to Amairaah. " Lunch pack karke du ya ghar ajaoge khane ?" Radhabai asked again. Amairaah sat down on the dining table and said , " Lunch ki jarurat nahi hai radhabai..college nahi jaa rahi aaj !" Radhabai was surprised. "Ghar me rehke kya karoge din bhar ?" Amairaah just said ki " Koi nahi Radhabai ek hi din baat hai ! ek din se kuch nahi hota !" Radhabai went inside kitchen to bring Amairaah some coffee and said ," Ghar me baith hi nahi paoge. Kabhi bhi logone se ghira rehna hi behtar hai !" Something struck inside Amairaah. Afterall Radhabai was right. For their safety they should always be surrounded by people. Shreya was surrounded by many people that were trained to protect her when it will be needed. But what about her own safety. Thinking of this she decided to go to college.

( Bereau )

As soon as Shreya entered bereau , ACP was waiting in the cabin with DCP sir. They both wanted to hear the full details of the case. Shreya blushed after an eye contact with Daya and proceeded towards cabin.

The meeting was of almost 3 hours. Once she got out of her cabin the first thought that had came to her mind was of her phone. She needed to charge it. But just as she reached her cubicle to charge the phone the bereau landline ranged and another case was reported.

Life as CID officer was very tiring. So Shreya had to leave her phone as it is and leave for the site that was being informed.

( Amairaah's college )

Amairaah was least interested in work today. She even invited some rude comments from the senior staff members for the negligence she was showing today. But she was in no mood. She had tried Shreya en number of times she was not reachable. She had even given up on reaching her so she tried Daya's number. But even he didn't pick up the call.

So all that she could do was safely reach home and wait for Shreya.

The day was long. Very very long. But somehow it was coming to an end.

And finally it ended. She bid her goodbyes to her bestest friend Kavya ,Ehsaan and lakshya and set for her home.

All through her way she kept chanting God's name. She was just to tired to deal with this all over again. She just wanted to go home safely. On her way back she always used to pass through a very lonely lane. And there was no shortcut or alternative to that.

When she arrived there she saw a group of police officers standing there checking every vehicle that was passing through.

God she hated these police drills. Last time when she saw some police officers she had landed in jail. God knows what happens now. She thought.

The police officer knocked on Amairaah's window. Amairaah opened the door.

" License madam ?" He asked. Amairaah opened her wallet to pull out the license.

She passed it on to the officers.

" Amairaah D. Sharma" The police officer said hinting something to the other guy. " Ho gya officers ?" Amairaah asked. The police officer asked. " Are itni bhi kya jaldi hai madam ?" Amairaah didn't like that. And suddenly a deep surge ran through her body telling her that the intention she had today morning was not wrong. She looked at the police officer again who was again hinting at his co-members.

Amairaah looked at the officer who had held her license. She looked at him carefully.

This guy was no police officer. This was the same guy that had hit her with a knife at the mall. This was the same guy that had tried to kill Ramesh. She looked at the other guy coming near her car.

This was the same man with whom had crashed in college and who had placed the sensor in her bag. And suddenly everything started to make a perfect sense. With trembling hands she picked up her fone to call Daya. This time also it went unanswered.

And then sudden blackness.

( At the bereau )

All the officers had reutrned to the Bereau. It was a simple case took less that 6 hours to solve.

Shreya mere cabin me aao ekbar.

Shreya wnet into the cabin.

"Yes sir !" Shreya said as she entered the cabin. " High command se msg aya hai. Ahmedabad court firse tumhare maa aur baba ka case reopen kar raha hai. Toh aise me tumhare aur Amairaah ke security ke liye humesha koi na koi maujoot rahega. Do you understand ?" Shreya was worried a bit but then was reassured by ACP sir.

At last they were done for the day.

ACP sir retired to his house. Shreya came back to her cubicle and looked at her poor phone. She hadn't gotten time to charge it since morning.

" Ting da ting da ting " Pankaj said coming from the entrance. "Waise ACP sir chale gye hai Daya sir !" He said moving towards his mentor. " Toh ?" Daya said confusingly as if what he had to with him going. " Aapse aur Shreya se party ki bate krne thi !!" Pankaj said teasing both of them . " Pankaj ke bachche...Idhar aa tu !" Daya said as they started a mini war. " Waise Thik hi keh raha hai Pankaj ! Kyu Shreya ?" Abhijeet came and started further teasing.

Just then Daya's phone rang and Pankaj snatched his phone . " Are phone toh uthane do.. Party deta hu me..tum tension mat lo !" But Pankaj didn't returned the phone..as it kept ringing. " Phone wagre toh baadme sir pehle party !" And every body laughed at his antics.

The playful mood continued for a bit long time as they decided to go to nearby cafe and celebrate.

( In a dark room )

No doors , No windows and no way out. All Amairaah could remember was staring at the two men and then complete darkness. Every minute seemed to be hell. The only sound she could hear was of her clock. It ringed out. Probably 8 PM she guessed. Guessed because she couldn't see due to the black unclean clothe that completely covered her face.

No light. No shadows .Just the black emptiness. She was suffocating. Her lungs were caving in. She was imprisoned.

 _Had she had gotten one chance to speak to Shreya yesterday. Or just maybe one time ,one little time She could get hold of Shreya today. Or may be the last time she had tried to call Daya , may be if he would have picked up, Things could have been different._

 _But Amairaah was used to this now. What would she do now.. No option other than waiting for anything, literally anything to happen in the complete darkness..._


	23. Chapter 22

nina js : Hope is a terrible terrible thing believe me. Lets see if you get what you hoped for.

Aditi : I agree it was wrong of Shreya and Daya but let's just not label them irresponsible by this one act.

Guest : Thank you..

Guest : Finally I was expecting a review in this context. Just wanted to give some attention to ACP sir too !!

Guest : Thank you !

Guest : Lets put it in this way. Some are born lucky and some are born to be fighters. And as Professor Snape once said ," It might have escaped your notice that life isn't fair ."

Shreya , Purvi and Tarika were the first one to reach the cafe. They were followed by all the boys. They all were in a good mood. " Sabse pehle mobile charge krna hai !" Shreya said to the two girls. Both of them laughed and Purvi said , " Shreya log khana khane restaurant me ate hai , mobile charge karne nahi. "

Shreya just sshhed her and all of them proceeded inside.

" Pankaj mere bhai abhi toh mobile dede !" Daya said asking his cell phone back from Pankaj. "Waise dene ko problem nahi hai sir...Lekin " ... Pankaj said dramatically rubbing his finger over his chin ," Lekin... Shreya toh yahi hai humare sath. Toh koi fone thodi ane wala hai . Toh khana khane tak yahi rehne dete hai !" Pankaj said jokingly and everybody dissloved in laughter.

Everybody took their seat and started ordering the food of their choice. Shreya got up from the chair and searched the nearby socket to put mobile to charge.

" Are Shreya...Lo tum bhi order karlo kuch. Sabne apna apna bol diya." Sachin said to Shreya. Shreya had a look at the menu card and ordered a very small quantity for her as compared to the lumpsome amount of food ordered by her collegues. " Are ittasa khana ?" Daya asked her. " Haa woh sham me Amu ko promise Kiya tha ki sath me dinner krenge krke. Abhi mobile charge nahi hai isliye nahi toh jarur uske 6-7 miss calls honge. " Daya nodded his head and they continued their chatting. The food arrived finally. Pankaj's pupils dialated so much on seeing the food as if he was seeing the love of his life. " Pankaj khana humare pass hi ane wala hai aise ghoor ke mat dekho !" Abhijeet said to him and everyone dissolved in laughter again.

Their chatting automatically reduced as soon as the started eating food. Everybody was quite hungry. They didn't have lunch owing to the case.

Suddenly Daya's eyes fell on Shreya. She was just playing with the spoon and not eating. Continuously she was staring down as if she was thinking something deep. " Shreya kya hua khana kyu nahi kha rahi ho ? Sab thik toh hai ?" Daya asked in a tone which was audible to only Shreya. Shreya just snapped out from her zone and said ," bas aise lagra ki kuch toh bhi thik nahi chalra ! " Daya held her hands under the table and assured her. He said ," Sab thik hai Shreya , Tum sahi salamat wapas aa gyi ho. Hum sath hai. Sab khush hai. " Shreya said to Daya again , " But Daya aisa lagra when I see eyething around its all right , I just don't feel like it." Daya replied ," Koi nahi..ghar jane ke baad aaj achchi nind lena tum. Jarurat hai tumhe." Shreya nodded her head. Everyone finished eating and Daya paid the bills. Shreya went to get her mobile from the charging point. As soon as she switched it on, she saw the miss calls of Amairaah. " Itne miss calls !" Shreya said to herself. Tarika came near her and said. " Abhi kise phone kar rahi ho Shreya ?" Shreya replied ," Amu ko Tarika bohot miss calls dikh rahe. Intezaar kar rahi hongi mera." But as Shreya was dialling there was no response from the other side. Maybe asleep she thought and she was going home now anyways. So Shreya just put her phone back in her pocket and went near her car.

All the collegues bid their byes to each other and left for their respective home.

( Amairaah's home )

It was around 8:30 when Shreya reached home. " Radhabai ...Radhabai...Amu so rahi hongi..use utha do na..khana nahi khaya hoga usne abtk !" Shreya said as soon as she saw Radhabai. " Amairaah..???Lekin beta woh toh aapke sath thi...Amairaah ghar hi nahi ayi hai."

Shreya totally not believing it said again , " Kya baat kar rahe Radhabai, Me apne dosto ke sath thi. Amairaah ke sath abhi khana khaungi. Aapko kisne bola ki Amairaah mere sath hai ?"

Radhabai in total confusion ," Dopahar ko jab raat ke khane ki baat ho rahi thi..tab usne hi btaya ki Shreya di ne kaha hai raat ka khana bahar khayenge. Abhi aap bhi nahi aye aur woh bhi nahi ayi ! Toh mujhe laga directly khana khane gye honge. " Shreya dialled Amairaah's number once again. No answer. Now her intuitions were getting stronger. Where was Amairaah after all.She dialled Kavya's number to ask about Amairaah's where abouts. But Kavya replied with what she knew , Amairaah had left for home from college at her regular timings. Same was with Ehsaan and Lakshya.

Shreya felt the panic begin as a cluster of spark plug in her abdomen. Tension grew in her face and limbs. Her mind started to replay if anything Amairaah had told her that she had forgotten. Her breathing became more rapid and shallow. She dialled again - no answer. Again - her heart racing fasted every minute- no answer. And now she was damn sure that something was gravely gravely wrong.

Shreya sat with a thump on the couch. Where was her sister. Daya..maybe she was with Daya playing the same game that she did when she returned. Maybe she was just backfiring.

Shreya dialled Daya's number. Daya picked up the call in the second ring. " Daya , Amairaaj ayi hongi toh please phone dijiye na use !" Shreya said almost crying.

" Kya baat kar rahi ho Shreya ? Aur itni ghabrai hui kyi ho ?" Daya replied with a serious voice. " Daya please majak mat kijiye. Phone de dijiye na use." Shreya finally broke down completely and almost begged. " Shreya , Amairaah mere sath nahi hai. Haa uska miss call dikha tha par Tarika ne kaha ki Shreya Amairaah ko fone hi kar rahi hai..toh maine wapas call back nahi kiya . "

Shreya couldn't breathe. It was as if someone was choking her. Her heart was racing and all she wanted to do was curl up in a ball and have Amairaah by her side. But she wasn't and Shreya had no idea where her sister was. A choked cry for help forced itself up her throat and all Shreya could speak was , "Daya , amu..." and she let the phone fall from her hands. " Shreya...Shreya...hello..hello...Shreya hello .." came Daya's voice from the other side. But Shreya couldn't care more. She just wanted her Amairaah back.

( Unknown place )

Amairaah struggled against the zip ties with blood running over the transluscent plastic, red on white. Her nose was filled with musty scent of the black clothe that covered her whole head. Her eyes strained against the blackness to see some sign of what was to come. She sure had started to catch cold due to the cold metal on which she was sitting.

It was almost 4 hours that Amairaah was sitting like this. The clothe she had over her head was wet in her mid face region owing to the tears. She had tried to snuggle out but she couldn't. Unless and untill she could see anything infront of her there was no chance that she could get out. And now after trying so many times She was also tired. She didn't have her lunch today and dinner was out of the question. She even had lost a moderate amount of blood when she tried to fight against the people . One of them had shot at her. Of course it wasn't a perfect aim. But still she had wounded her self in her upper arm.

" Boss ? Isko khana dena hai kya ?" Amairaah heard a voice. " Ek raat khana nahi milega toh maregi nahi ladki ! tadapne de aaj raat. Isko bhi aur iske ghar walo ko bhi !" The other voice shouted.

Amairaah then heard some steps coming towards her.

The torturer ran his fingers on the bare hands of Amairaah and within no time he injected something in her system through her upper arm.

Amairaah yelled in pain which was followed by a cry and then a silence which couldn't be understood.

It felt as if suddenly all the adrenaline had been washed away. She was feeling intense pain uptill now and suddenly now she was feeling nothing.

Amairaah was feeling totally numb.

The man standing in front of Amairaah breathed deeply and with one hand pulled Amairaah very forcefully and dragged her.

He dragged Amairaah without even giving her a chance to completely stand up.

Amaiaarh heard the screech of a door being opened and then felt that she was being tied to the chair.

And yes she was.

( Amairaah's home )

After 5 minutes or so , Shreya got back to her senses. She dialled ACP sir's number immediately. He needed to be informed. ACP sir also picked up the call almost immediately . His voice spoke the tension he was feeling. He told Shreya that he is on is way.

Radhabai was too worried. She dialled some more of her friends number that Shreya didn't have but got no response. She sent Dattu to all the nearby places that Amairaah would visit every once in while.

Shreya still searching her mind for answers suddenly heard a screech of car. ' Finally Amairaah is back !' that's the forst thought that came to her mind. She ran towards the door to see her sister. As soon as she opened the door. She saw Daya. Disappointment washed her face once again.

Feeling helpless she collapsed in the arms of Daya. " Will she be alright ?" Shreya whsipered to Daya. " Daya affectionately held his arms around Shreya and said , " She will be... she knows how to fight back ." Daya took her by the hands inside and then called for tge police controll room. " Hello Sr. Inspector Daya bol raha hu. Ek number trace karke chahiye abhi urgently !" He started his investigation as a CID officer.

Soon ACP sir accompanied by Abhijeet.

" Kuch pata chala Daya ?" ACP sir asked as soon as he entered . " Number track karne ke liye bheja hai sir . Bas 5-10 min baad kuch pata chal jayga. " Daya replied.

" Abhijeet 2 logo ko bhejo and ghar se college tak ka rasta pura chaan maro. Agar college se nikli thi aur ghar nahi pohochi..toh bich me kuch na kuch hua hai. Bich raste me hi hua kuch. " ACP sir said to Abhijeet. " Yes sir !"Abhijeet replied. And the suddenly both Daya's and the home's landline ranged simultaneously. " Hello senior inspector Daya here , ...Haa thik hai..ok ok..thank you. " Daya siad on the fone . " Sir Amairaah ke fone ka location uske college ke pass jo canal road hai waha bata raha hai. Me waha jake check krke ata hoon." He said after disconnecting the fone. Suddenly Radhabai came running towards the drawing area and said , " Kavya ka Phone aya tha. Woh yaha ane nikli thi toh bich raste me usko Amu ki car dikhi. " Everybody got alerted . " Radha kaki , Kavya ko phone krke bolo ki kisi chiz ko chue na waha ! Hum aa rahe hai !" Saying that everybody left.

( Canal road )

The road was desolate with pot holes and dirt tracks lined with hedges. It was lined by trees on both sides. Loose gravel could be seen around every corner of the road.

Soon they saw a figure of a girl. It was Kavya. She was standing their very scared. Standing under a tree as soon as she saw Daya , the only know person in the small group she pointed him towards Amairaah's car. " Ek kaam karo , Tum woh humari car me jake baitho , yaha akele mat khade raho !" Daya said toh Kavya giving her the keys and running towards Amairaah' car.

Daya gulped down on seeing the car. Open doors and windows ,the keys still in the keyhole and the headlights still on.

' Where are you Amairaah ? Please be safe !" He thought to himself. Of course he had seen the sights like this many times. But seeing one of your own people involved was something different.

Abhijeet , Daya and ACP wore the gloves and started searching for anything they could find. Shreya started to search in the nearby area . She shouted continuously , " Amairaah...!...Amairaah ...!" But no response.

She did this for 2-3 times more but still no response. Amairaah was not there.

Abhijeet searched the trunk of the car while ACP sir took the back seat and Daya searched for the front area.

As soon as he entered from the front door he saw some blood on the stearing wheel.

It was not as fresh but it was not to stale either. Around 6 hours must have passed.

" Sir khoon hai yaha pe !" Daya said calling out to his seniors. With every passing moment and with every new finding coming up , the tension increased every minute.

Daya took the sample of blood and put it in evidence bag.

He got out of the car and inhaled and exhaled. The things he had taught Amairaah when she was panicked.

He ran his both hands over his hairs and thought just where and what went wrong. Everything was fine uptill now and suddenly everything went wrong.

Abhijeet came from behind and patted his friend's back. " Sab thik ho jayga Daya , tum chinta mat karo !" Abhijeet said assuring him. " Mujhe kuch samajh nahi ara boss. Abhi tak sab kuch thik tha. Kash Amairaah ka phone utha leta nahi toh itni badi problem hi nahi hoti." Daya said so not being able to hide his worry.

" Ho na ho isme woh Ahmedabad case wale log involved hai." ACP sir came from behind and said. Then Daya saw Shreya's figure inside the dense trees looking at something very carefully. " Shreya...?" He called out loud enough. Shreya didn't respond . Daya went near Shreya followed by ACP sir and Abhijeet. They reached the spot and Daya sqautted down to see as what Shreya was looking at.

There was a not large but appreciable pool of blood seen. " Ek ek ..ek minute" Abhijeet said as he wore the gloves and dipped his hand in the puddle. He had found Amairaah's phone. It was still working. Shreya just couldn't see it anymore. Abhijeet further looked for anything and just behind the tree he spotted one shoe. He showed it to Shreya. It was Amairaah's. Shreya just collapsed into Daya's arms.

Seeing her condition ACP sir said , " Daya ,tum Shreya ko ghar chod kar aao aur Tarika se phone pe kaho ki Shreya ke sath rahe. " Daya replied to his senior ," Sir investigation ka kya ?" ACP sir assured him that he could come back after he safely drops Shreya home.

Daya held her by the hand and took her towards the car.

As soon as Kavya saw the condition of Shreya she came out held her. Daya told her to make Shreya sit in the car while he makes urgent calls.

Kavya took Shreya and made her seat on the front seat. They both remained silent. They had nothing to say.

Soon Daya returned and asked Kavya to take a seat. " Me tumhe aur Shreya ko ghar drop kar deta hu. Tarike thode hi time me pohochti hogi. Agar kisi bhi chiz ki jarurat pade toh use keh dena thik hai ?"

Kavya nodded her head.

As they reached home , Tarika was waiting for them. As soon as she had gotten the news, she was there without any hesitation.

Tarika took Kavya and Shreya inside and assured Daya not to worry about them.

Daya said that he just has to make some calls and after that he will leave for the pending investigation.

Shreya sat in Her bedroom staring into emptiness. What had she just saw ? Tarika came inside with some food and sat front of Shreya.

" Shreya , Thoda khana khalo please. Dekho Amairaah wapas aa jaygi , Lekin tumhe apne aap ko shant rakhna hoga. "

Tarika said consoling Shreya and requesting her to eat something.

" I just ...I just touched the blood of sister who might be seriously injured and god knows where she is ?" Shreya said in between sobs.

Shreya was always well conscious of her crying. But today she just gave away the enormity of her grief. She sobbed into her hands and the teard dripped between her fingers raining down onto her clothes making them wet. Her breathing was ragged and she was gasping for air. It was as if all the strength she ever had just disappeared in a moment.

Tarika kept the plate of food on the table by her side and rubbed Shreya's back.

( Drawing room)

Daya was still making some calls when he saw Kavya walking here and there restlessly. She was also very disturbed. Sometimes she tried to call Ehsaan and lakshya but then even before ringing she kept the phone down.

Daya then went to Shreya's room where he saw Shreya in the most vulnerable position she could ever get.

Daya himself was very scared at this point to make an eye contact with Shreya because he himself didn't have any answers. But he was needed. He was needed by Shreya at this very moment. As he had promised ,' For better or for worse !'.

Daya came inside the room and asked Tarika to go down and make sure Kavya is alright.Tarika left Shreya's side and left her with Daya.

" Shreya , akhe kholo ! " Daya said to her. Shreya didn't respond. " Shreya me dobara nahi bolunga..,c'mon akhe kholo." Daya said raising his voice. Listening to this Shreya opened her eyes. It looked like the fire in her eyes was dowsed by ice blue water.

" Amairaah se koi contact nahi ho para..me janta hu. Na uska ata pata hai aur na hi humare pass kuch info ayi hai. Me tumhe ye kehke nahi behlaungi ki sab thik ho jayga. Kyu ki mere pass hi kuch jawab nahi hai. "

Daya said taking the plate in his hands from the tabke that was besides her bed.

" Lekin me ye jarur kahunga ki me Amairaah ko wapas launga. Even if I have to go to the end of the world to go looking for her. " He started mixing some steamed rice with Dal. " Apne aap pe vishwas karo that all through these years you have taught Amairaah enough. Mujhpe bharosa rakho ,I will make everything right and last and sabse important , Amairaah pe bharosa rakho. She is the daughter and the sister of one of the bravest people I have ever seen. So she knows. What to do and what not to do. okay ?" Daya said as he brought a spoonful of rice near Shreya's mouth. Shreya took a deep breathe and took a bite. Daya literally fed her some food. He went down to keep the plate. And returned back immediately with a glass of water . He opened the drawer of the side table and took out some tablets. He insisted Shreya to take one . And as soon as Shreya was done taking one , Daya pulled her legs upwards and made her sleep in a comforting position. He pulled the blanket on her and left switching off the lights.

As he headed down he saw Radha kaki bringing him glass of milk which he denied as he needed to get back to the investigation.

He saw Tarika gently stroking Kavya's head on her lap. Tarika had managed to her to sleep. As she saw Daya leaving she tried to get up repositioning Kavya's head but Daya signalled her to let her be.

With this he left to be back at the crime scene.


	24. Chapter 23

Aditi : Yes I know. But just like every damn time , the moment someone lets their gaurd down something happens.

nina js : Bad things lay ahead...But I assure you that good things will follow too..

aditi nivin : I liked your description ," Eternal misery !" ( wink wink ).

The deep unconsciousness was suddenly broken. Amairaah tried to stir in a relatively comfortable position but she was tied her every limb being fixed to some part of the chair. Her face was still covered by the black clothe.

The only thing she Amairaah could sense was some voice. She was hearing something but wasn't able to make it out.

It was a prayer of some kind. She concentrated more and more to just make some sense out of it. It was a sermon probably at a mass service in a nearby church. Amairaah then put in all the efforts she had to listen what was being said.

 _ **Be strong and courageous and do the work. Do not be afraid or discouraged for the lord is with you. He will not fail you neither forsake you untill all the work for the service of temple of lord is finished.'**_

Amairaah had tears in her eyes. She was being put to test again . Pain had once again paid her a visit when she was in desperate need of healing. And now she just heard some one speak about being brave. She inhaled and exhaled just as Daya had told her.

It must be morning , Amairaah was sure of that after hearing the prayer. A whole night had passed and nobody had came looking for her. Either she was hidden in a very far away place and maybe her family weren't bothered for one night. Maybe they hadn't started searching. Amairaah's deep breathing continued. Soon they would start interrogating her ,Amairaah knew that. May be they will torture , blackmail. She had made up her mind for a million things that could go wrong.

But there was a sudden prodigeous courage pushing inside her. Demanding her to be brave and strong. She had never seen this kind of bravery before but now she was determined not to give in to their demands.

( Bereau )

Almost 15 hours had passed after Amairaah's disappearance. No clues , No call for ransom , no call for death threat. There was nothing to go on. Whole night Daya and Abhijeet had searched the forest in which they had found Amairaah's phone. The blood belonged to Amairaah as per the forensic reports. But where was she.

Daya , Abhijeet and ACP sir were up all night. They were now frustrated.

Shreya was still out at home. Daya had called Tarika to ask about her. Actually Daya had dosed her on a sleeping pill . There was no other way he could manage her. He knew it was wrong but there was nothing much he could do.

He just stared into emptiness not knowing what to do next.

" Aeyy , Shanti se chalo chup chap. Ek bhi awaj nikala na itna jor ka chata lagaungi ..Samjhe ?" Purvi said to a man that was being pulled inside the bereau by Pankaj. Everybody snapped from there thinking due to the sudden commotion in the office.

" Ye kaun hai purvi ?" Abhijeet asked. Daya came forward hoping some lead would come up.

" Sir ye Ramesh hai . Ek Khabri hai. Mumbai aur Maharashtra me jyada active nahi rehta. Ahmedabad me iska main base hai. Jo unknown number se Amairaah ke mobile pe message aya tha , Woh isne bheja tha ! Kafi time lag gaya track krne me. Lekin aa hi gaya hath me." Pankaj said giving Ramesh a push towards Daya. Daya held him by the collar and almost shouted , " **Bol !!"**. Ramesh remained silent. He was well aware of the rules and regulations of cops. He knew they wouldn't harm him. " **Bolta hai ki me mere paidre istamaal karu ?"** He again shouted. Abhijeet asked Daya to loosen his grip. He exactly knew at what point Daya would lose controll. So he and ACP sir took controll.

" Amairaah ko kiske liye bulaya tha ?" ACP sir asked again.

" Jo hua hai uske barime warn kiya tha. Mujhe kahi se khabar mili thi ki Amairaah ke piche ye log lage hai." Ramesh replied

" Ye log ? Matlab kaun log ?" Abhijeet asked. Ramesh hung his head down not wanting to answer that question. " **Bolta hai ki goli se tera bheja uda du .."** Daya came in with a dash pointing his gun at the spy. " Daya Shant raho !" ACP sir said to him. " Zindagi gol hai , Sr. Inspector Daya. Zindagi gol hai. Jaha se sab shuru hua tha. Sab wohi khatam hoga. " Ramesh replied.

Though they persuaded him, even beat him a little he was not saying anything more than the above sentence.

( Unknown place )

Amairaah heard some heavy footsteps coming near her. She straightened up herself. She had made her mind to be brave , to be courageous no matter what.

She felt somebody untieing the ropes that held the black clothe on her face.

Suddenly heavy light fell on her eyelids and she could not bear it. Of course how could she. Her face had been in darkness from the moment she was caught. She could finally acknowledge that she was in some kind of a godown. The only light source in the room was tha window that was exactly opposite to her. But she couldn't she any roads or people there only trees. May be she was on the upper floors.

Suddenly a man came. He was short strature and a little bit fat. He came and closed the window completely. The only light that was present was gone. Of course it was not completely dark because it was day time but it made the room sunken and heavy.

The other man came from behind and slapped her hard.

The slap was as loud as a clap and it has stung her face. It was an open handed smack and it had left a red welt behind. Below her eyes appeared a small cut where the ring was. She wanted to clutch her face but he couldn't. Her hands were still tied.

" Adat nahi hai na iski ?" The man asked. Amairaah was back from beaten up position to being straight. Her anger was building by the minute.

" Kaise adat hogi ? Mahalo me rehne wale ho bhai. Jo ghar me rehte hai unko beghar logoke dukh ka kya pata. " The man said sharpening a knife in his hands.

Amairaah was not listening with an intention to reply. She had decided to be quite. Speak only when it was needed. Because she knew , if she spoke anything in anger it can be used against her in the court.

She kept quite. Inhaling and exhaling. Just hoping this phase to pass away. The guy laughed from behind. It was a evil laugh.

" Lambi lambi sase le rahe hai ye !" He said to the other guy The other guy laughed too. " Tumhe pata hai me lambi lambi sase kab leta hu ?" Amairaah turned her head in opposite direction with an intent of not answering. Very forcefully her grabbed her chin and turned her neck in forward direction.

" Me lambi lambi sase tab leta hu jab mujhe dard ho raha hota hai ! Kaisa dard..batau...?" The guy said and ran the sharp edge of knife though her hand.

He ran it quite slowly with an intent making Amairaah feel the pain.

Amairaah kept quite. She wanted to scream and punch the guy straight right in front of her. But she couldn't. A small tear escaped from her right eye.

The guy laughed seeing the blood oozing out from her wound. Suddenly somebody knocked the door.

" Kaun hai ?" The guy asked angrily. A teenager was standing near the door with an assymetrical steel plate in his hands. His clothes were ragged and he was shocked on seeing the blood oozing out.

" Saab , bade saab ne bheja hai !" The little guy said. The other short stratured guy hastily took the plate from his hands and kept it on the table.

" Kya hai usme ?" Tha tall guy asked. " Khana hai iske liye ! The other guy replied. " Do isko !" He ordered again.

" Mujhe nahi khana !" Amairaah retorted arrogantly. The made the man boil with anger. Swiftly he turned his face to Amairaah and again this time he ran his knife very quickly. A second cut. Amairaah was still reluctant to eat. So the man forcefully grabbed her cheeks and put a steaming hot cup of tea directly in her mouth.

The moment the guy emptied the cup in her mouth she spitted it out on him. And not only tea but also the little bit things thay were present in her stomach.

This was it for the guy. He punched her in the stomach with his legs with all the force that he could accumalate.

This led Amairaah to fall on the floor with a thud. But the worse was she was still tied to the chair. And thus she couldn't even pick her up. And she was sure that none of the two were going to help her for the same.

Amairaah lay on the floor on side still tied to the chair one hour later. Blood had started to soak her sleeves on both side. She sighed and managed to press her stomach with her hands. It was powerful kick and the pain throbbed. It was as if someone was inside it and trying to squeeze the organs out as hard as they could.

She even had banged her head during the fall. She felt like a swelling coming up and was already confident about developing a concussion.

But she had nothing to do again. So she patiently closed her eyes and chanted god's name.

( Bereau )

"Sir kyu na hum uss beach pe jake dekhe jaha 4 saal pehle sab hua tha !" Purvi said. Abhijeet replied with some hope , " Sahi keh rahi ho Purvi , jaha sab kuch shuru hua tha wohi sab kuch khatam hoga - aisa bolne ka aur kya matlab ho sakta hai ! Hume deri nahi karni chahiye. Chalo chalte hai !"

As the team was leaving ,Purvu crashed with Shreya. " Shreya tum ?" She asked.

" Me bhi chalti hu sir , aap jaha jaa rahe hai !" But Abhiheet was unsure was doing so. " Shreya dekho iss waqt tumhara ana thik nahi hai. Emotionally nahi Practically socho ." He said looking at Shreya.

" Boss ane do usse !" Days requested him and without even waiting for a moment he left towards the larking area. The others followed him.

( Beach )

As soon as the team reached the beach , their investigations began. Everybody got separated and started searching for any clue that one could get.

Pankaj started talking to the fishermen and Purvi started talking to the people that usually rented their yatch or boats.

Abhijeet searched the beach for anything that could get a lead on Amairaah. Daya started asking to the local vendors and Shreya asked the normal public on the road.

" Iss ladki ko dekha hai kahi ?" Daya asked the juice vendor from where he usually ordered juice.

" Ye ladki toh aapke sath ekbaar ayi thi na saab !" the juice vendor said after immediately recognizing Amairaah from the photo.

Suddenly a wave of memories crashed Daya's mind

( Flashback )

" Aisa juice sahime me milta hai ?" Amairaah asked Daya seeing the color of juice. " Nahi milta toh nahi but its custom made for me !" Daya replied. Amairaah giggled at that.

( Present )

Daya ran his hands on his head and tried to concentrate on the case. " Haa mere sath ayi thi ! Dekha hai kya kahi ?" Daya asked again. " Nahi saab . Subah 6 bje se raat ke 9 baje tak yaha rehta hu. Nahi dekha inhe kabhi yaha. " The vendor replied. Dissapointment washed Daya's face once again. He had almost talked to every vendor but nobody had ever seen Amairaah. After half and hour everybody met and their expressions showed the disappointment beneath. They were back to square one. So all of them decided to be back at the bereau and take things from there patiently.

( Unknown place )

Amairaah's eyes flickered. She knew she was again out for a couple of hours. Guessing the light that came through the window, It was already early evening. Another day coming to an end and she was nowhere to be rescued.

Suddenly she saw another man sitting on her side quite distant from her. His one hand lay on the table and with the other he was playing something on his mobile.

Amairaah's throat burned. She was dehydrated now and the morning cup of hot tea wasn't too good. She just needed some cold water to pass through her throat.

Suddenly the man slided a water bottle towards Amairaah through his feet. ' Oh ! how considerate !!' Amairaah thought. He expects me to drink water from this bottle with my hands tied to the chair.

The man got up from his position and with one quick movement straightened Amairaah's chair and opened her hand ties. Amaitaah felt free for two minutes and started gulping down water. Though the bottle showed packaged mineral drinking water , God knows from where that water was. But she had no choice. So she gulped down the same.

" Do it the easy way ! Seedhe Seedhe bol do ki me culprit ke against gawahi nahi dungi ya usse bhi better case wapas le lo. Tumhare liye bhi achcha hoga humare liye bhi !" The guy said to Amairaah.

Amairaah had finished drinking water and he again tied her hands back to the chair.

She suddenly pointed towards her tied up limbs. " This ...This is the easy way ?" Amairaah said.

" You have your way , I have my way. As for the right way ,the correct way and the only way - It doesn't exist. " The man replied pulling out a cigar and lighting it.

" Agar maine tumhari shart maan li toh kya tum mujhe chod doge ?" Amairaah asked diplomatically. The man laughed and he laughed hysterically. " Amairaah...Amairaah...Believe me I will personally make that you don't go back. Amairaah is gone. " He said coming dangerously near her face. " I hope Shreya and the other idiot people who are searching for you do not put extra efforts for you. I hope they understand it sooner that Amairaah is gone...Like...Pufff ." He retreated back and further said , " As for you Its upto you to decide. You are already gone. So whether Shreya stays safe or whether she follows you. "

Amairaah squinted her eyes shut. History had repeated itself once again. Once again she had to make a difficult choice for the sake of the safety of her family.

No matter how many times people had assured her , No matter how many times they had made her understood she was in the same damn situation she feared the most.

Her life had come to a point where there were more tears than smiles. There were more fights than jokes . And it hurt more than it felt good.

( Bereau )

The whole team returned disappointed. Almost a whole day had passed and still nothing to go on.

" Daya ek kaam karo . Sr. Insp D.N. Sharma ke case ki file kholo. Case ki reports hai ,jin jin logone statements record kiye hai woh sab check karo. Pata lagao koi aur jagah ya location ka mention hai kya ?"

Daya immediately went and called the Ahmedabad CID bereau and asked for documents. They agreed but said that they could send the documents next morning only.

So again till next morning they had nothing to go on.

Ek kaam.karo sab apne apne ghar jao. Lets start fresh tommorow morning.

Saying this ACP sir left. He was the first one to leave the office.

ACP sir reached home and directly went into his study. He started rummaging through all his files . He just needed some answers. It was never like this that a case was reported and they weren't able to get a clue within first 24 hours.

( Shreya's house )

Daya and Shreya were sitting on the dining table. There was a drop dead silence. No one spoke a word . Radhabai had been in and out of the temple area more than any one could remember. Dattu sat by the telephone still awaiting some call.

Daya and Shreya hoth had foods in front of them but they hardly had in bite.

Little did they know what danger awaitened them !


	25. Chapter 24

Guest : Thank you

Guest : Sorry this time also you had wait for a whole week. Will try to update it soon this time.

Aditi - Yes. Lets see what happens next.

Guest - Thank you for complimenting my writing style.

Guest : Thanks. bas ek alag concept dimag me aya toh likh diya !

Guest : Thank you ...

Laksara : You know How much I miss your reviews on every chapter. Ek do baar toh aisa laga ki shyd firse galtise guest ke naam pe likh diya honga . But was literally so happy to read your long review. And dont apologize for being late - I fully understand it.

nina js : Thank you nina.

Saakshi B. : OMG is it really you. Finally aap wapas agye. I was waiting for you and Apurva even thinking maybe you'll never return but you did. I can't be more thankful. And gussa bilkul jayaj tha but abhi kahi nahi jaa rahi pakka promise. Thank you so much for the love that you have always given...

Sanussanu : And this is one the most beautiful review that I will always keep in mind. You made me realize just how fast time has flown. Dont worry no changing of your routines now.

Sss: Thank you so much :)))... Keep reading. I hope you will like this update too.

" **Did you even keep a track of us ?"** Amairaaj shouted at Shreya.. " **You could have texted us once you have reached Mumbai ! You could have called us when you boarded the plane. So my question is where the hell were you ?"** Amairaah was right even if Shreya had tried to call them that evening maybe their missing case would have reported earlier. But it all had to happen in that unfateful day. The fight and then Shreya leaving in anger and just anything that could make the bad situation worse.

But Shreya was also frustrated . She knew Amairaah was angry and sad . But it had now became an everyday practice for Amairaah to start a fight with Shreya.

So Shreya had also lost Patience.

" Call kar ke bhi kya hi kar leti Amu. You just went missing like thin air. " Shreya said to Amairaah in calm voice.

Amairaah started laughing. And her laughter broke loose all of a sudden.

Shreya wasn't understanding what was happening.

" Oh my God , I can't believe you Shreya di. I seriously can't believe you. You being the daughter of an army guy saying this. "

Amairaah said continuing the laughing in between.

"People don't go missing Shreya di. Just like that People don't go missing. " Amairaah said snapping her fingers. " Other people don't search for them. " Amairaah said taking a deep breathe and uttering the final words.

( Present )

Shreya snapped at this memory. And suddenly she couldn't catch her breathe. Daya left his food and was at her side this instant. " Shreya...Shreya..meri baat suno..Sab thik ho jayga ! Hum sab lage hai na Amairaah ko dhundhne me. Usko kuch nahi hoga !" Shreya cried on Daya's shoulder. " Daya... please chahe kuch bhi ho jaye Amu ko dhundhna band mat karna !" Shreya said in between sobs.

" Ye kaise bate kar rahi ho Shreya ? Jab tak Amairaah is ghar me wapas nahi ati tab tak me chain ki saas nahi lunga ! Okay ??" Shreya nodded not leaving Daya even for a moment.

After some time and making sure that Shreya was fine , Daya took her leave for his home. Tarika was still coming to stay with Shreya for the night.

Daya parked his car in his house. Today a thunderstorm was predicted and it actually came true unlike other weather predictions. The thunder seemed to crack the air as if heavens might split apart. Daya's cries had somehow been lost in the thunder above.

Daya rested his head in the head rest. He had to be strong in front of Shreya but the fact that he himself was missing Amairaah .

And in this moment he couldn't understand what was more difficult. Missing her or pretending not too.

He ran his fingers from the centre of his forehead to the end of the brows. Pressing particular points that he knew would lower his sudden headache.

Daya lay there for sometime untill he was satisfied when suddenly he heard somebody knocking on his car window.

He lowered the glass and found none other than Abhijeet.

" Are Abhi tum ? Yaha kaise ?" Daya asked in surprise. Abhijeet smiled seeing how hard Daya was trying to hide his pain. " Bas kuch nahi yuhi aagya tha tumse milne !" Abhijeet said as they both walked inside Daya's house.

" Khana kha liya ?" Abhiheet asked. Daya nodded without speaking a word.

" Daya..Kya soch rahe ho ? " Abhijeet asked Daya.

" Kuch nahi boss. Bas yahi ki Its almost one year that I have known Amairaah. Adat si pad gyi hai uska dhyaan dene ki. Like a routine baki kuch baat ho na ho bas raat me mera ek msg rehta tha - All ok ? " Daya said with a slight heaviness in his voice.

" And then when actually nothing was fine I didn't pick up the call !" Daya said finally making Abhijeet realize thay what he was thinking.

" Jo ho gya so ho gya Daya. Tum bhi jante ho aur me bhi janta hu ki humari life kitni monotonus hai. Toh ek baar thoda majak masti kar liye toh iska matlab ye nahi ki tumhari bohot badi galti hui hai. Bas ye samjho ye bas ek ittefaq tha. Aur age badh ke case pe dhyaan lagao " Abhijeet said to his dearest.

" Tum thik keh rahe ho boss. Ab bas intezaar hai toh kal subah ka. " Daya said after calming down a little.

They both were talking about the probablities and odds and what not.

Suddenly a thought passed through Daya's mind.

" Boss me yeh sochra tha ki bhalehi Amairaah ko rescue mumbai a

ke beach se kiya gaya tha lekin ye case toh mainly Ahemdabaad me based hai. Kahi Amairaah ko bhi waha toh nai rakha hai !"

Something flashed between the hardened expression of Abhijeet and they both immediately got up and hurried to investigate the sudden shift in their thinking.

" Tum Shreya ko call krke pucho. Me ACP sir ko call krke puchta hai. Shyd unhe iske barime andaja ho. " Abhijeet said.

Both of them took out their cell fones and dialled the two numbers simultaneously.

" Hello Tarika , Shreya hai kya wahape ?" Daya asked Tarika who picked up the fone.

" Haa Daya , woh shyd fone par kisi khabri se baat kar rahi hai. Ya manlo usse daat suna rahi hai. Kisi ke pass kuch khabar nahi hai isiliye." Tarika replied.

" Waise sab thik toh hai na ?" Tarika asked after a long pause. Daya assured her that even if they still don't know anything about Amairaah ,the good thing was that the case didn't go for any worse turns. Tarika heaved a sigh of relief.

" Ye lo Shreya aa gyi. Baat karo usse !" Tarika said to daya as she handed over the fone to Shreya.

" Haa Daya boliye ..." Shreya said expect some new development.

" Shreya woh Abhineet aur me sochre the ki Amairaah ko beach pe jab rescue kiya gaya tha uske pehle kisi aur jagah rakha tha kya ? " Daya asked, making Shreya minds run miles again. " Shyd kahi Ahemdabaad me ?" Daya said making sure that Shreya was dissolving each and every information.

Shreya slumped by the table nearby. Her eyes creased and face tensed. She started to push her brain forcing it to think. She had never fully read the file herself. She didn't want to hear that how her family was tortured. The only things she came to know about the case were due some flying comments coming out of no where.

( Flashback )

Shreya stood at her parents funeral. Everyone's heads were down. Maybe it was a form of showing respect or maybe they were too scared to see what was next. Seven strong army men were standing near the tricolor draped body.

" Suna hai samundar me leke jane se pehle koi factory me rakhe the !" came a gossip flying out of no where. " Us factory ke malik ko pakda hai aur uski factories band karwa di hai !" the same voice came again. " Achcha ? Kaunsi factory hai aur kaun hai itna behrehem insan ?" came another voice. " Are wohi jana mana business wala..kya naam tha uska Seth...Jagan seth. Haa uske hi factory me rakha tha." The first voice replied again.

( Present )

" Jagan seth..." Shreya said. " Kisi Jagan Seth ki factory ke barime suna tha Daya." Shreya replied in a very low voice.

" Kya aapko lagta hai ki kahi Amairaah ko Ahemdabad me rakha hai ?" Shreya asked her tension increasing every minute.

" Dekho mujhe pakka nahi pata par ekdum ye chiz neglect nahi kar sakte. Ek baar case ki file ane do kal subah, dekhte hai fir. " Daya said. With that they kept the fone.

Shreya got up with a lump in her stomach. What if Amairaah was seriously in Ahemdabaad. It was around 7-8 hrs drive but could completed in 5:30-6 hrs.

She was planning something in her mind when she saw Tarika talking on the fone again.

Tarika saw shreya's desparate face and hurriedly got through her phone conversation. As soon as she was done with her call she came near Shreya asked her what was she thinking. Shreya nodded negatively and just said , " Nothing." Shreya asked Tarika , " Tum kisse baat kar rahi thi ?" Tarika told her that it was Kavya's and further mentioned that she calls at least 3-4 times day for any update. Shreya was in her own while Tarika was talking about Kavya.

" Kya soch rahi ho Shreya ?" Tarika asked again. " Tarika , Daya bol rahe the ki chances ho sakte hai ki Amu Ahemdabaad me ho. Toh me sochri thi abhi ki koi flight mile toh achcha hi hai nahi toh car se subah tak pococh jaungi. Me ati hu travel agent se baat karke. " Tarika was clueless about what she was talking about and why she had sudden urge to leave for Ahemdabaad at this hour of night. She stopped Shreya from going towards the phone and in a strict voice said to her , " Shreya ! ruko aur sambhalo khud ko. Aur ek sensible officer saman behave karo. Ahemdabaad koi nahi jayga . Jab tak ACP sir ka kuch order nahi ata tab tak yahase koi nahi hilega."

" Bilkul sahi keh rahi hai Tarika ! Koi bhi yaha se nahi jayga mere orders ke bina." Came a roaring voice from the main door.

It was ACP pradyuman himself accompanied with Dr. Salunkhe.

Shreya felt helpless again. Now all she wanted to do was run to Ahemdabaad and search for her sister but she was tied by hundreds of rules and regulations. So she easily accepted her defeat and sat down on the recliner chair near her.

Closing her eyes she draped herself with a plush cover and started chanting God's name. She just couldn't do anything better.

ACP sir sat besides her and stroked her.

Radhabai came out of kitchen with two large cup of coffee and offered it to the senior men.

Shreya could hear the three of them talking but she was least concerned. So she closed her eyes and before she knew it , she was out. She was asleep.

( Daya's home )

Abhijeet came inside from the terrace after talking to ACP sir.

" Kya kaha ACP sir ne ?" Daya asked curiously. " Shreya se hi milne jaa rahe the ACP sir. Keh rahe the ki unhe iss chiz ka andaja tha . Jagah ka toh koi andaja nahi par agar hum logo ko Ahemdabaad jane ki jarurat padi toh unhone Sachin ko inform karke rakha hai that he will be the incharge for that period of time. " Daya nodded his head in appreciation.

" Tumhe kuch pata chala ?" Abhijeet asked the same question. Daya told him about the place mentioned by Shreya but both knew that there was nothing they could do till next morning. So they better sleep it out.

( Unknown place )

"Life...life can be a sick joke ! " Amairaah heard somebody say. And yes it was the voice of somewhat decent guy in the group.

" Life is a very very sick joke !" He said once again.

" How come it is that when some other guys come they injure me in some or other ways and you seem to be a nice guy in a bunch of these idiot blood thirsty murderers. " Amairaah said. The guy smiled. He was actually pretty good looking. If he Wandered in outside world no body would believe that he was involved in such business.

" So kya socha hai finally tumne ?" The guy asked a straight forward question.

" Nahi socha !" Amairaah replied with an arrogant smirk. " Mujhe toh aisa lagta hai ki baki logose jyada jaldi aapko hai. Ekbaar ka sab khatam krke kahi bhagna hai kya aapko ? Are you a good man trapped in these very bad boys." Amairaah asked again with a voice raised a little.

The guy smiled with a devilish grin sending shivers down the spine of Amairaah.

" Well that's an evil smile for sure !" Amairaah said shifting to a more comfortable position.

The guy's smile continued to stay on his face as he said," You see me smile - just know that I am always planning something evil. You clearly don't know who you are talking to Amairaah. So let me clue you in. You think me of a good guy trapped in a bad company right. I am not in dangerous company Amairaah. I am not in any danger ...I am a danger.

You are thinking maybe I could be of some help to you.

You are thinking that another guy from downstairs knocks the door to shoot you and I can stop him ? You think that of me ?

Well let me tell you the truth , I am the guy who knocks."

The guy then dangerously came near Amairaah and held her with her chin.

" So now you see me smile , know that I am thinking of doing something evil but the next time you see me laugh know that I have done it !"

And saying that he forcefully pushed Amairaah backward . Amairaah had almost lost controll but this time she managed to not let herself fall from the chair.

The man left with a bang on the door. It was dark outside. Probably past 7 Amairaah thought.

She closed her eyes and inhaled the air filled with some irritating odour. She probably had some time awake before another guy comes and tortures before giving her some kind of drug.

Trapped . No way out. Amairaah searched for something a crack , crevice anything through the room to help her escape. But there was nothing. Her prison was a perfect cube ,the corners could be reached if she stretched her hands like a starfish. Her breathing had stabilized and her mind was focused again.

How much days more Amairaah thought. Cause she didn't know how much long she could hold on.

( CID bereau - next morning )

Everybody was working continiously with their head down. Some were working on computers, some were on files.

" Sir ye 2 location ka mention kiya specifically woh case file me !" Sachin said to his senior officials.

" Kaunse do Locations hai Sachin ?" ACP asked as everybody mived forward to listen to him

" Sir ek koi Seth factory ka workshop ka address hai. Waterways use krne se pehle Amairaah ki puri family ko iss workshop me band rakha tha. Jo giraftaar hai unke bayan ke mutabik toh Amairaah ki maa ka yahi murder hua tha !" Abhijeet just pinched Sachin hands from behind at the harsh use of words. Of course Sachin hadn't done it purposely but it just came out of nowhere just like solving any other case.

When Sachin realized what he had done he instantly looked towards Shreya. She had her face down.

" I am sorry Shreya ! Woh bas ..." Sachin apologized to Shreya but Shreya instantly accepted it and said ," Its fine sir , don't worry !" Shreya then went towards ACP sir and said , " Sir hume toh fir jitna jaldi ho sake utne jaldi nikalna hoga !' ACP sir agreed and he actually had expected this so he had a plan chalked out.

" Shreya , Abhijeet , Daya aur Rajat hum sab abhi jo bhi flight mile usse Ahemdabaad ke liye niklenge ! Tab tak Sr. Inspector Sachin tum CID Mumbai ke incharge rahoge. Purvi aur Pankaj tum dono Pune jaoge . Aur waha ke central jail me jo 4 saal pehle giraftaar hue log hai unka interrogation karoge. Ye rahi uski permission. Uske sath sath unhe kaun milne ata hai , waha uska sabse achcha dost kaun hai , koi uske msgs andar bahar karta hai kya ? Sab pata lagaoge tum dono ! " ACP sir took a long pause and then again said , " Everybody clear ?" The whole team replied with a loud , " Yes sir " and then they set off..

( Airport )

Within 3 hours everybody was ready with their required baggage at the airport. They didn't wait in line instead their CID badges helped them get through. At the moment they entered inside the premises they were greeted a senior airport management person.

" Good morning sir ! Mujhe bas aapka hi intezaar tha. Aapke kehne ke mutabik jo sabse jyada convenient flight thi woh aapke liye book ki hai ! Aapka boarding waha hoga. Aaiye I will escort you. Your flight leaves in 40 minutes.

After some formalities and within no time Shreya found herself leaning on the plane's window.

She was finally returning to her city which she had pledged she would never do. But something was telling Shreya that she was going in the right place to find her sister. Although she had no logical explanation or practical proof but somehow she felt that the place was pulling her towards itself like a big black hole.

Suddenly she felt a large palm covering her fragile hand. She had grown familiar to this touch now. Shreya immediately accepted the comfort and looked forward as to what welcomed her.


	26. Chapter 25

Aditi : Success ko leke ek shayri yaad ayi. Bas apke liye...

" Bohot tadpayegi... Bohot tarsaygi...

Manzil hai woh mere dost..

Maut nahi jo ek pal me ayegi..."

Saakshi ji : Ji bas aapne keh diya aur humne likh li..bas aisa hi samajh lijiye. Yaa fir aapke wajahse hi likhte rahe hum...

Riya : Thank you Riya for such a sweet gesture. Its quite difficult to read it in one or two goes coz its quite lengthy..but a very heartfelt thank you to you...

Sanusanu : Aap chahe toh aa sakte hai , Lekin baat meri maniye. Its too much better to be on the other side and read it. The one who writez has a very very messy mind. *wink*

Dayalover30 : It's okay buddy you completely read it in one go and thats enough for me... ty..

Guest : Thank you for such a long and beautiful review.

Apparna : Thank you for the compliment. And to answer your question I don't know if I further write any story at all to be specific. I mean I surely have some ideas in my mind but I have not implemented them or assinged them to any particular character. Maybe I will write another cid fanfiction or maybe I will go with twilight or some other fiction stuff or maybe not go ahead at all. That's the thing in my mind ,I don't know it so cant make any promises but I you want I will surely try my best ! Lets see how the time permits.

Guestlemonlover and guest : Hey new people.! It was quite actually shocking for me that in a whole suspense related series you could think that may be I can write some.mature content. I don't know what made you think that but again repeating myself. I will try to continue writing as much as possible but how much time permits me thats a big question. And even If I write I think that writing mature content is way out of my league. Sorry guys ...:-((

And last but not the least...Laksara : As always I missed you. I hope you like both the chapters...love ya...

 **W** hen the new dawn came, Amairaah couldn't move. Not because she was tied pretty harshly to the chair but because every muscle in her body had seized up.

Her feet touched the bloody mess on the floor that was her adversary. Her eyes were already swollen and bloody spit drooled everytime she tried to open her mouth. Amairaah tried not to stare at her nose but she found her eyes constantly diverted to it. Some dried blood residues could be seen at aperture of her nostrils.

Her body had finally started revolting to the torture she was subjected to, since a couple of days.

Suddenly she couldn't believe what she saw. Was she hallucinating or was it actually happening. Amairaah closed her eyes for a couple of seconds and opened them to look clearly.

It was a happy family evening. The three most important persons were sitting in front of her and enjoying their evening cup of tea. There were jokes popping out of nowhere and the laughter could be heard with a clarity. Even the cold war that was always present between Shreya and Insp. D.N. Sharma had also seemed to taken a break. There was sun setting at the distance and the ending of the day couldn't have been more beautiful.

Amairaah was confused from where all of a sudden she was seeing this playing in front of her. But then she heard of a button being pressed again. And another video started.

It was the very next day. All the four family members had decided to make a family portrait so they were on their way for the family shoot. Amairaah could hear their laughter once again. And it was not just a noise that came from their mouth. The laugh could be seen in their eyes and how their faces were relaxed. In fact it wasn't also connected to their face it came from within.

It was years now that Amairaah had seen her mother like that. For a moment she had even forgotten that she had been held a hostage. She was just indulged in a world before her. A smile crept on her face and she tried to touch the faces on her parents but she couldn't. And then the years followed as reality suddenly hit her.

A button clicked again. But this time she saw a picture of her accompanied with her parents on an airport. She was bidding her sister a goodbye. And then suddenly ...CLICK...the sound came again. The next picture she saw was that of the three of them entering into the house.

Her stomach did summer saults. If only she could stop that moment. And then again...CLICK... The next photo that came was very unknown to her. She had never seen that. Hold on- Amairaah thought in her mind. It was picture of Amairaah tied up to a chair in a small room. She was unconscious. But the room that she saw in the background she had seen it somewhere. A vague sense of familiarity washed her. She looked around and then it came to her notice that the way she was in the foto is exactly in the same position she was now. The only difference was that she was little older now. The whole earth beneath her feet swept off. But then again ... CLICK... The foto started zooming and the button was pushed again to zoom further more. Who ever was handling this started to zoom the foto so much that the clicking sound made Amairaah fill with fear.

And 1-2 minutes the sound stopped.

But then when she had a look the foto she just couldn't understand with what kind of luck she was born.

There was a woman on the floor laying lifeless. Lifeless. Her hair was scattered in multiple places with dired crimson blood all over it. Her emerald green eyes were half open . The iris showed a sudden sadness.. Her lime colored green dress was filled with spots of red color as she lay their silently half sitting and half lying on the linoleum floor.

Amairaah looked back at the pillar near which her mom was seen on the foto. It was the same. Nothing had change except the figurine of her mother.

Amairaah turned away as she just heaved. Gasping for air in between. Her eyes stared into empitness and her lips lay hung open.

But then again did her luck ever showed mercy on her. Never...Never in all those years. So was it going to stop now.

No... Why the hell would it. And it didn't.

Amairaah was struggling to keep her calm when again... CLICK...

The bad got to worse and the worse turned to worst. It was like her nightmare. Her mother's turn was over and now it was time for her father.

Amairaah screamed on seeing the same fate of her father. And the scream seemed wrong in so many ways. She closed her eyes determined not to open it. And she closed it hard enough.

Amairaah just didn't have any more strength to see anything. But the next thing she heard was Shreya's laughter. She was compelled to open her eyes once again.

The whole CID team was sitting in a restaurant and she could get that their was a lot of leg pulling of Shreya and Daya going on.

...CLICK...The next thing was her house again where Shreya and Daya hugging at the entrance.

...CLICK...the whole cid team was an a beach scattered talking to people.

...CLICK... It was Daya's parking lot. He could be seen talking to Abhijeet.

...CLICK... this one showed Tarika and Shreya getting out their car in the CID bereau...

And just like that Amairaah hung her head in the most depressed way she could ever do that. She knew what these people wanted her to show. She felt as if she had lost again. All the courage she had tried to gather went in vain...

( Airport )

The four major officers of the CID Mumbai had just landed in Ahemdabad. And soon ACP Pradyuman started to look for someone. And within no time he heard someone saying , " ACP Pradyuman sir ?? " ACP Peadyuman turned his back ans saw a man in mid forties standing in front of him. " Inspector Shah Reporting sir !" Everybody greeted the Inspector that was going to with them through all their journey in this city.

" Aaiye sir , Hum sabse pehle aapka saman lekar hotel jate hai and then if you want to have some lunch hum woh karenge and then we will proceed with our investigation !" The man said nicely.

" Lunch ki jarurat nahi , We had a heavy breakfast ! Hum seedhe saman rakh ke investigation ke liye niklenge. " Abhijeet replied. Although it was far from truth. No body had eaten properly in the last couple of days. But they couldn't , they just couldn't resist to start the investigations here.

As they started approaching towards the parking of the airport they were escorted by two more police officers on either sides.

Shreya raised her eyebrows at the protection that they were being given but then Daya reminded her of the security that she and Amairaah were being alloted by the court due to the risk to their life.

It was almost half hour later that the whole team had reached the hotel and had started talking about their plans. They started chalking out the locations and the possibility of Amairaah being their. When they talking about the factory that had been located , Inspector Shah spoke up , " Sir I would suggest ki factory ke sath sath aap ekbaar Inspector D.N. Sharma ke Ahemdabad ke ghar pe bhi ekbaar jake aye !" Shreya was shocked to hear this . She said , " Ghar pe..Ghar pe kyu ?" Inspector Shah said again , " Sir jaise hi mujhe ye case allot hua tha maine thoda mere side pe bhi investigation shuru kiya tha." He pulled out his briefcase and started pulling out some Photograph that were taken from some cctv cameras. He handed them toh ACP sir. " Sir ye wohi ghar hai. Insp. D.N. Sharma ka. Waise pichle 4 saal tak yaha kuch disturbance nahi tha. Lekin kuch 2 hafte pehle se ne yaha kuch movement hone ki khabar mere khabri ne di thi. Maine fir samne ke dukan se CCTV cameras ke recording liye the. Just najar rakhne ke liye."

ACP sir was very keenly looking at the photoes looking for some clue. " Toh kuch pata chala ?" ACP sir asked. Inspector Sharma replied , " Sir ye jo insaan aap dekh rahe hai fotoes jisko maine red circle se mark kiya hai ye yahape din me kam se kam 3 baar dikhta tha. Jab ispe gaur kiya toh pata chala iska naam hai Rocky. Ye iska asli naam nahi hai sir. Intelligence ke hisab se ye apni duniya me Rehman naam se famous hai lekin ye bhi iska asli naam hai ki nahi iski koi garuntee nahi le sakta. Iska na koi country ka passport hai na visa. Aur koi n asli indentity proof. Suna hai ki abtak ki iska kaam tha jane mane terrorist organizations ko arms and amunitions supply karna." Shreya took the fotoes from ACP sir's hand and started concentrating on tha particular man. Abhijeet just roamed about in the room and started thinking and he just asked his fellow colleague , " Information toh tumne thik nikali. Par jitta tumne is Rocky ya Rehman ka description diya uss hisab se toh ye bohit bada aadmi pata chalta hai. Use iss case me kya interest ?" Daya came near Abhijeet and said , " Baat toh tumne logical ki hai ekdum boss. Ye kidnapping ki wagre bohot choti case ho gyi iss rocky ke liye !"

But then Inspector Shah came near Shreya and took the photoes from her. He himself had a good look at them and then continued , " Shreya kya aapko apke papa ke Rajasthan operation ke barime kuch pata hai ?" Shreya nodded negatively. The inspector continued , " Kariban panch saal pehle jo humare intelligence office ke on field agents the unke hisab se rajasthan ke kuch desert areas me ek terrorist operation bohot hi tezi se age badh raha tha. Us operation ke barime jankari pane ke liye ya kahiye usko rokne ke orders aapke papa ko diye gye the. Abdul naam se ek saal jeekar unhone uss operation ki puri dhajiyaa uda di thi jiska badla toh aap janti hi hai kaise liya gaya tha. Inspector Sharma ke family ke muder ki planning Khalid Mir aur Ibrahim Mir naam ke logone ki thi. Ye wohi log hai jo us terrorist operation ko head krte the lekin police enquiry me chut gye the. Jab Miss Amairaah Sharma ko Bombay ke kisi secluded beach se rescue kiya gaya tha tab police ke hath me sirf Khalid Mir aya tha. Ibrahim Mir firse khudko surakshit rakhne me kamiyaab rahe. " As Inspector Shah told all this to the officers standing in front of them he also simultaneously showed them every photographic and documentric evidence that he could gather in one day. " Ye jo jail ke salakho ke piche hai woh Khalid Mir hai !" Everybody was awestruck as every minute a new information was unfolding. Uptill now the thing was that Shreya's father was always being involved in anti terrorists activities not very much information was leaked. So everything came new to Shreya and even ACP Pradyuman.

" Toh kya tum ye kehna chahte ho Ibrahim Mir apne bhai ke liye ye sab kar raha hai ?" Abhijeet asked in a very serious tone. Inspector Shah laughed at that and said , " Nahi sir , intelligence ke hisab se Bombay se bhagne ke baad Ibrahim Mir apne terrorist organization ke main base camp me wapas lauta, lekin wahape use uske aur Khalid Mir ke unsuccessful operation ke liye maut ke muh chadhaya gaya. Toh abhi uska is case se kuch lena dena hi nahi hai !"

" Ye Rocky urf Rehman in sab ke bich kaha ata hai ?" Daya asked. " Rocky ya Rehman jise hum keh sakte hai woh ya toh Ibrahim Mir ya Khalid Mir in mese kisika beta hai. Ye jung ek aulaad apne baap ke liye ladh raha hai !"

Shreya sat on the near by couch in a worry. Worry about in how much danger her sister was. ACP sir was also worried. But his worry was totally different. " Toh kya ab hume us factory ke liye nikalna chahiye ?" Shreya asked. " Nahi Shreya. Ab hume pehle ye sochna chahiye ki hume iss case me involve hona hai ki nahi ?" ACP sir said shocking her to the last cell in the body. "Iska kya matlab hua Sir ?" Shreya became very hyper almost on the verge of losing controll. Daya came to her side and stroked her back and asked her to calm down. " ACP sir ka ye kehna hai Shreya ki ye case me hume interfere krne se pehle Anti terrorist bereau ko ekbaar inform karna jaruri hai. Sabse pehle ye unka case hai. Yeh ek national security ka mamla ho sakta hai" Abhijeet said very calmly from a distance. " Interfere...??? Interfere...??? " Shreya almost shouted. She went crying near ACP sir and joined her both hands to request him. " Meri behen hai sir woh ! Bohot kuch dekh liya hai usne abtak. Use aur kisika ka intezaar mat karvaiye ! Please me aapke samne hath jodti hi. Aapki bhi beti hai woh. Please uske barime kuch toh sochiye !" Shreya said in between sobs.

She knew it was a matter of national security but she couldn't help but be selfish at this moment. She just wanted her sister back. Daya retreated from his original postion and stood at the back. He just wiped two very little tears coming from his eyes.

He couldn't imagine the pain that Amairaah was bearing for tha last few days. He felt sad for the poor soul. What horrible life she was blessed with. What horrible rhings she had to see. He had kept his calm uptill now but now at this moment hearing the whole story his emotions were set free.

" Waise dekha jaye toh Shreya ka kehna ek tarika se thik bhi hai. Me manta hu ki mamla nationak security ka hai lekin agar apne Anti -terrorist bereau ko abhi inform kiya toh thoda bawal mach jayga. Isse shyd woh log aur underground hone ke chances hai. Toh mera kehna yahi hai ki jaisa chalte ara tha abhitak waisa chalne de. Ladki ki jaan bhi bach jaygi aur sab thik raha toh terrorist pakde bhi jayenge. Aur aapki position kafi reputed hai ACP sir ye police ki duniya. I am sure ki jab Anti - terrorist bereau ko khabar pata chalegi woh aapki baat thukrayenge nahi !"

ACP sir sat with an utmost confused feeling. He himself was much senior in this business and now he had no answer what to do. He saw Shreya and then he had a look at Daya. These two people were now burried in too much emotions. He then looked at Abhijeet , his right hand. With eyes only he asked the most trusted man in his life. Abhijeet nodded in one go. And then without questioning him ACP sir got up and said , " Thik hai toh fir , Daya aur Shreya tum Shreya ke ghar jao aur dekho kuch pata chalta hai kya. Aur tab tak me , Abhijeet, me aur Inspector Shah hum uss factory ke location pe jake ate hai." Shreya heaved a sigh of relief and started getting ready taking her gun and other stuff. Just then Daya's phone rang. It was call from Purvi.

" Haa Purvi bolo !" Daya said and they continued their conversation.

When ACP sir asked Daya what did they talk about , he said " Sir Purvi keh rahi thi ki Khalid Mir jo filhaal Pune ki jail me kaid hai usse directly koi milne nahi aya abtk. Lekin uss jail ka jo cook hai woh uss khane ke sath sath bahar ke msgs pohocha tha. Uska interrogation karne ke baad pata chala ki koi ek banda har mahine ke 2nd aur 3 rd Saturday ko ek msg bhejta tha. Ye lagbhag pichle 6 mahine se chal raha. Woh cook ke pass woh number mila jiske through usse pehli baar contact kiya gaya tha par as usual woh kisi khacha card ka nikla. Huliye me bas ye bata paya ki most of times jeans aur t shirt pehen ke ata tha. Naam toh kabhi pata nahi chaka lekin uske upper arm par R naam ka tattoo banaya hua tha. " Daya went near the small fridge to drink some water. After taking a lump some amount he spoke again ," Sir kahi aisa toh nahi ye milne wala rocky urf Rehman hi tha !" ACP sir thought for a while and said , " Ho sakta hai Daya bilkul ho sakta hai. Mujhe lagta hai hume abhi bina deri kiye hue apne apne kaam pe lagna chahiye. Everyone out for their jobs. Now !" ACP sir issued the order at once and everyone left in their respective cars.

( Abandoned house )

Even before Shreya knew, Daya and she had reached her old house. Shreya took deep breathes . The last time she was here it was her parent's funeral. It felt like an whole era had passed.

At exactly opposite side she saw a small store. She used to buy some penny candies from their. Although it had changed a little but it could still be made out that it was same shop with a same shopkeeper.

They both parked the car and got down. As soon as Shreya proceeded towards the main door to open it a bolting current ran through her spine. All the memories came flooded into her mind.They way she used to run towards her mother from this gate after school, The way she used to lure her mother for buying her some candy and the way her mother used to wait outside the porch for her in her college days when she used to be late.

Daya literally pushed her inside saying , " Chalo, hume jldi se jaldi case ko age leke jana hai. In sab chizo ka abhi time nahi hai." Shreya nodded and they both went inside.

A man in white pyjamas came running towards them. He asked , " Are aap kaun hai aur aise andar kaise chale aa rahe hai ?" Shreya said , " Ye mera ghar hai . Tum kaun ho aur Abbaji kaha hai ?" Shreya went near Daya and told her that Abbaji used to manage the house when they both shifted to Mumbai.

" Shreya ji ??? " The man asked. Shreya nodded . " Ji maaf kijiye maine aapko pehchana nahi. Me Raghu. Abbaji ka bhatija. Unki tabiyat aajkal me thik nahi rehti toh woh ghar pe aram karte hai. Unke jagah kabhi kabhi me ajata hu. Aaiye aaiye andar aaiye aap ." The man said as he escorted them inside.

As soon as he opened the door , Shreya felt a heaviness washing her.

By the door was a woven mat with rustic strings which showed thousands of boot marks - a testimony to the beautiful life that once dwelled here. Shreya could hear the laughter of herself and her sister. A whole new level of nostalgia was washing her hut she controlled herself this time. Daya took out a photo of Rocky and showed it to Raghu. " Ye aadmi aya tha yaha !" Raghu startled on seeing the photograph. " Ye...yee..tasveer aapko kaha se mili ?" Daya kept the foto back in his pocket and gave his expression when he came to know of the truth. " Dekha hai isko ?" He asked again. " Haaa...ha..ha saab. Ye na ekdin aya tha yahape chori krne ki koshish kar raha tha ! Me bhi seena taan ke khada tha sir yaha. Bilkul data raha..thodi hatha paayi bhi hui humara bich. Dekhiye mere sir pe abhi bhi chot hai. Par maine ek chiz lene nahi di usko !" The man said without a little hesitation. Daya pinched the bridge of his nose and said , " Ye ...ye yaha chori karne aya tha aur tumne ise roka ? Dikhao jara apni chot. dikhao !" He said. The man started opening his turban. As soon as he opened his turban Daya went near him and slapped him really hard. Even Shreya shocked at this incident. " Daya !" Shreya shouter. Daya even without looking at her raised a hand to stop her. " Seedhe seedhe bol nahi toh Ek aur lafa padega. Aur Daya kya lafa jab padta hai na , Muh me piano bajne lagta hai. Kya bajta hai ?"

The replied very scarily " Piano !" Daya held him by the collar again and said , " Chal bata kya kya hua hai yaha pichle 6-7 mahine me." The man said , " 50,000 rs mile the saab. 50,000. Shreya aur Amairaah ke barine jiite bhi information pata thi utti btane ke liye. Unka mumbai ka address , college , office kaha jati hai, kya karti hai , kiske sath rehti hai ye sab pata karna tha usko. Mujhe shakal se laga ki insaan thik nahi hai par me paiso ki lalach me aa gaya saab !" Shreya just couldn't believe what the guy in front of her did. " Tumhe pata hai tumne kuch paise ke liye Amairaah ki jaan ko kitta bada dhoka pohochaya hai. Tumhe andaja bhi hai ?" The guy cried suddenly feeling guilty for all his work. " Contact kaise karte the usko ?" The man took out a crumbled paper parchment from a near by drawer and gave it to Daya. " Kuch pata chala toh ye number pe contact karta tha sir. "

" Agar teri iss harkat ki wajahse Amairaah ko ittasa bhi nuksaan hua na toh Teri khair nahi !" Daya warned him and left followed by Shreya. He then immediately called Inspector Shah and notified him about the incidences and asked him to ask the concerned authorities to trace the particular number. Daya just again asked him that if they both could join the remaining team near the factory location and Abhijeet and ACP sir agreed.

( Factory )

Amairaah was still crying from all tthe videos and the photoss that were being showed to her. " Kehna kya chahte ho tum ?" She asked in between the sobs.

" Bas tumko ye dikhana chahte hu ki jaha camera itte pass jaa sakta hai uttehi karib bandook bhi jaa sakti hai. " Came a voice from behind. He was the same handsome guy to whom Amairaah had talked before. He was seen polishing a gun. " Chalo chodo..ye btao tumne kya socha hai ?" Amairaah cried making noises. What options she had now. Just for a mere court case she couldn't risk the life of Shreya and Daya. How could she. " Me tayar hu !" She said closing her eyes and asking forgiveness from her father above.

But at that moment only somebody knocked the door. The guy was angry as who disturbed them at his winning moment. " Thode der baad ana." He shouted. But the someone outside pushed the door open. " Aap isi waqt bahar aye !" An aged guy came through the door and ordered the younger one. The younger guy with a force punched his fist into a near by wood with anger and then went out with the older one.

As he went down he was greeted by a small group of people that he had managed to gather in an year or so. One of the guy handed him some photographs. It showed CID team at Ahemdabad airport ,then at a hotel and then Shreya and Daya at Amairaah's house. " Hume isi waqt yaha se nikalna hoga. Sab log nikalne ki tayari karo !" The older guy said. The younger guy screamed in frustation." Iss waqt kaise nikal sakte hai hai yahase. Woh kamini ladki tayar ho gyi thi. Me apne walid ko jail se bahar dekhne tak nahi hilne wala." He said almost shouting.

The older guy said , " Josh se nahi hosh se kaam lo. Yaha se bhag chalte hai. Woh ladki ko kahi bich raste me ekbaar ka khatam kardete hai. Na rahega baas na bajegi basuri !" The older man said. The younger guy didn't quite understood. " Aap kehna kya chahte hai !" The older guy replied , " Na rahegi ladki , Na rahega us case ka eklauta gawah. Na banegi koi strong case. Aapke walidaan ko toh fir bail ke bharose pe bhi rihaa kiya jaa sakta hai. Aap unki chinta na karo. Ladki ka kaam khatam krke aap border paar karalo khudka. Waha humare apne bhai passport aur visa ke sath tayar khade rahenge. Kuch dino ke liye kisi aur desh me underground ho jao. Case apne aap close ho jayga !Samaan bandho aur niklo !" The guy ordered everybody in the room.

After a few minutes of time the older guy went into Amairaah's room . Amairaah tried to retreat backwards on the chair. She was scared of this guy. He loaded the syringe with too much of some drug and very painfully injected Amairaah with it.

And the world again came to stand still. Eveything around was numb once again.And before she even knew it her face was again being covered by a black clothe.

( Barren land )

The officers parked their car on a barren land some distance away from the factory. If the goons were present there they didn't want them to get alerted because of their actions. Very slowly and carefully the marched towards the empty godown.

The main door was locked. ACP sir signalled Daya and within no time the door lay broken in front of them. When they entered the factory all they saw was a very long room with some abandoned stuff and nothing more. It could be made from the lightness of the air that there was nobody here.

" Achchise talashi lo ek ek kone ki !" ACP sir ordered and everyone started their work.

Daya reached a small door. It was locked too. With one single attempt he broke that too. It opened into a small room or a cubicle we should say. In between lay an empty chair that had thick ropes on it.

" Abhijeet..Shreya..he called out !" And everyone came running. " Aisa lagta hai yaha kisiko bandh ke rakha gaya tha ! Ye dekho rassi ke sath sath khoon bhi hai kafi !" Daya said pointing towards the small puddle of blood. " Kisiko nahi sir , Amairaah ko." Shreya said pointing towards tha jacket that she spotted at the ugliest corner of the room. It was Amairaah's, although soiled and it smelled horrible but it was of Amairaah. " Daya..jara kone me dekho kya gira hai waha plastic ka ?" Daya went their and saw a couple of syringes. These were the same syringes that were used to drug Amairaah.

Daya ran his hands through his hair. He just couldn't tolerate it more. Now just as Shreya wanted Amairaah he also hoped the same.

" Daya ye sab chize forensic lab me bhejna ka intezaar karo. Yaha koi nahi hai. Ab hume yahase chalna chahiye. Us number ko track krte hai jab tak forensic reports nahi ate." ACP sir said to Daya and he obliged.

All the evidences were sent to the central forensic lab with the help of Inspector Shah. As all of them sat in the car, Daya couldn't help but think of Amairaah. Where was his sister ? How much injured she was ? Has she been given food or were they starving her. He missed her arrogance, her back firing . He missed solving her problems and more than everything he missed taking care of her. Would this storm pass away ? He questioned himself... as they crossed the dusty roads on the periphery of the city...


	27. Chapter 26

Riya : Hey riya...Thank you so much for loving this story. Sorry for the late update..love ya loads

Sakshi B. :I tried Sakshi. I really tried to complete this chapter in daytime but sorry it was not possible for me. So here is an update . Almost 46 mins late for a Tuesday.

Laksara : Thank you Laksara. Regular update toh dena hi tha. Aapko chod ke kaise jate.

Sanussanu : Thank you ji. Umeed hai aapko ye chapter bhi jhakas laga !

Aparna : Aparna. I read your review when actually I was having a very very bad day. Thank you so much for making me feel good.

Guest lemon lover : Aapko hum aajse sunhat bulayenge. Thank you ji. Lets see if something happens. Waise not a mature content but just added Dareya moment. Have a look. Hope you like it.

Aditi : Thank you aditi as always for being there for me each and every time.

Tuttto : Thank you tuttto..Bas aapka review aya and humne aapke liye chapter la diya...

Chrissolover : OMG...your name btw. Thank you so much for the support. Sorry dear. I tried to update it in daytime only. But the thing is I am for now posted in some rural areaa and the network issues there - aaahhh just dont ask about them. I was going to update as soon as I reached home. Lekin ghar ane ke baad itti dhoop me bed ke alawa kaha kuch dikhta hai... Sorry really sorry...

Chapter 26

Amairaah came back to the senses owing to the constant banging of her gead on some kind of hard metal. Where was she again and how much time had passed since she was conscious last time was a very big mystery to her.. Her limbs were still tied but one thing she knew for sure that she wasn't in a room anymore.

Amairaah was musing over all these questions when with a sudden big jerk her head banged again to something hard nearby and this time it was painful. " Aaahhh !!!" She screamed. She even heard some things falling. Can these guys at least stop covering her head with a black clothe she thought !

" Rehman bhai jara dhire chalayi ...Itti bhi kya jaldi hai ! Jinko chakma dena tha unse hum kafi dur chale aye hai . Aap aram se chalaye !" Amairaah heard someone said nearby. And now she knew that she was in some kind of vehicle. Maybe she was being transported to somewhere else. And just could her bad luck could get any better.

Amairaah took a deep breathe as she had been taught to do during moments of despair. But as soon as inhaled dust ran through her mouth and nostrils. The black clothe with which she had been tied had clearly seen better days. Amairaah was not usually allergic to dust but the condition in which she had been kept for the past couple of days had definitely brought her immunity down. The reaction came fast and she started coughing. She needed some water but could she get any. Even the worst part was would they offer any ??

After around 5 minutes of literally coughing her lungs out she finally said desperately , " Pani !!" And suddenly the very light sufi music that was playing in the back ground paused. " Hmm " Amairaah heard someone say and no sooner she felt the clothe on her head being untied.

Amairaah was finally able to look as to where she was actually sitting. It was a kind of mini bus. The vehicle was sleak and was an pretty old model. The cycle which Amairaah owned had better suspensions than this vehicle Amairaah thought. No wonder she was rocking side to side continuously on a relatively smooth road. She was handed over the bottle . Amairaah started opening the lid when suddenly " Ouch !" , Her head banged again. She saw metal bar in front of her. So this was the thing with which Amairaah had been colliding for quite a time now. ' Definitely going to have a swelling in that portion of forehead ' - Amairaah thought to herself. She drank some water. The water was literally boiling due to the hot temperatures outside but she didn't have any options so without making a noise she drank it.

( Hotel )

" Manna pdega sir ! Iss case me jitte blind spot aa rahe hai..utte aajtak kisi case me nahi aye !" Abhiheet said to ACP sir . ACP sir , Abhijeet and Inspector Shah had just finished their lunch. " Bas abhi Amairaah ki bohot chinta ho rahi hai sir. Pata nahi bachchi kis haal me hogi , Kaise hogi ?" Abhijeet said again. He specifically said the last sentence looking at his mentor.

Since the day Amairaah went missing , ACP sir hadn't uttered a word. Abhijeet knew that he was just as depressed as Shreya but he was just hiding his emotions pretty well. But this was not good. Today even Daya had broken down a bit on hearing Khalid and Ibrahim's story. But not ACP sir. He was still thinking about his duty. Abhijeet wanted his father like man to talk to him about it. He just didn't like his boss suffering alone.

It was as if he was too quite or too loud inside. He was taking things too seriously or he was not serious at all.He was too sensitive or he had actually become cold hearted. There was no in between. It was as if he was suffering too much or he wasn't suffering at all.

" Daya aur Shreya kaha hai ?" ACP sir again asked in a very formal tone. " Woh room me hai sir. Daya bolra tha ki Shreya ko akele nahi chodega. " Hmm ! " ACP sir again replied very coldly.

" Inspector Shah ! Jaise hi apko daya ke diye hue number ke barime kuch pata chale aao mujhe inform kar dena. And I hope ki isme jyada der nahi lagegi !" ACP sir got up from his chair as he talked with Insp. Shah. " Me Daya ko bhejta hu niche. Use bhi kuch kha lena chahiye. Shreya ke liye room me order kar lunga. Tum ruko Daya ke liye !" ACP sir said to Abhijeet.

Abhijeet nodded. Afterall was he really expecting ACP sir to open up to him.

( Hotel room )

" Haa Purvi jaise hi kuch pata chalta hai btate rehna !" Daya said on the phone. He was standing by the window talking to his fellow colleague. She also didn't have any new information.

He looked back at Shreya with dissappointment. Shreya on looking At Daya's expression hung her head down. Sadnees washed her body all over again as she lay silently on the bed with a fatigue on her face. She was tired as she had not been eating and not sleeping properly for the last couple of days. The sorrow grew more profound as each minute was passing and there was no clue of her sister.

Daya went near her and said , " Shreya... Sometimes you fall off the wagon for way too much times. Sometimes you think you will start afresh on monday and by Wednesday you have already fallen back off. Sometimes you have to restart it a thousand times. But it will be okay ! You can do this. We can do this. One day at a time !" Shreya looked into Daya's compassionate eyess and nodded for a time being.

" Daya !" Suddenly both of them heard ACP sir's voice. He was calling out for Daya. " Yes sir !" Daya replied. " Tum niche jake ke Abhijeet ke sath thoda khana kha lo jao ! Woh ruka hai tumhare liye !" ACP sir said to Daya as he approached them.

" Sir me thik hu yaha ! Shreya ke sath upar kha lunga kuch mangwake !" Daya replied.

" Daya maine kaha na niche jao. Me hu yaha Shreya ke sath ! Me dekh lunga .Jao tum !" ACP ordered his junior. So now Daya could do nothing except going down having a lunch with Abhijeet.

As Daya was heading down he crossed his path with Imspector Shah. "Are Daya sir..me upar hi araha tha ! Woh jo jo chize humne forensic lab bheji thi uski reports ayi hai !" Inspector Shah said showing a brown envelope. And after that they both headed for the upper floor.

Daya opened the door with a hope that finally they would have something to go on again.

" Daya tumhe khana khane bheja tha na..wapas kya kar rahe ho tum ?" ACP sir asked.

" Haa sir woh actually forensic ke reports aa gye hai. " Daya told him as he opened the envelope.

" Abhijeet kaha hai ?" ACP sir asked again. To which Isnpector Shah replied , " Sir actually forensic lab se ek doctor bhi aye hai. Abhijeet sir unke sath upar aa rahe hai !" And at that moment only Abhijeet entered with a man.

" Dr. Maurya Sir , From central forensic laboratories !" The guy said after shaking hands with ACP Pradyuman.

" Good afteenoon doctor ! Kya kya pata chala aapko in sab evidences se ?" ACP sir asked directly.

" Sir aapke bheje hue evidence se sabse important woh blood sample. Woh Miss Amairaah Sharma ka hi hai. Humne woh DNA Shreya mam ke sath match krke dekha. Aur usse ek aur important baat pata chali hai. Woh blood sample bhari matra me incapacitating drugs mile hai !"

" Incapacitating drugs matlab ?" Shreya asked out of worry. Dr. Maurya replied , " They are those class of drugs jinke halke dose se bhi ek insaan ka nervous system dheeme dheemese kaam karna band kar deta hai. It makes it easier for the kidnappers to controll the victims for any kind of assault."

Another worry washed over everyone's face.

" Woh syringes jo apne collect kiye tha shyd wohi use kiye gye honge yeh drugs inject krne ke liye !" The doctor continued.

"Jacket se kuch khas pata nahi chala sir uspe aur test jari hai." The doctor ended his conversation finally.

The forensic hadn't been of much help uptill now. They confirmed that the blood was Amairaah's but again they had nothing to go on.

" Inspector Shah ! Uss number ke barime kya pata chala !" ACP sir asked. "Nahi sir . Filhaal toh kuch pata nahi chala. Lekin ..." The Ahemdabaad inspector's voice was cut down by the sudden ringing of his cell phone. ". Just a moment sir , I need to take this !" He said as he excused himself.

After about 5 minutes Inspector returned . And he continued , " Sir jo fone number track krne ko bheja tha uski info mil gyi hai ! Sir ye no. pichle 3 din se switched off tha lekin 4-5 ghante pehle takriban ye kisine use kiya tha. Aur tab uski location wohi factory me thi jaha pe hum log jake aye hai.

Aur abhi adhe ghante pehle hi woh firse switch on hua tha..par yaha se kafi dur ...sheher ke kafi bahar kisi highway pe locate hua tha."

" Toh chalo fir deri kis baat ki !" ACP sir said and the team left with a new hope.

The car ran speedily through the roads. The driver was pressing the accelarator as much as he could. The destination was far away. Each of the officer looked way too exhausted to keep working anymore. But they couldn't stop. They just couldn't stop now. They were in desparate need of sleep. But still all those who were supposed to be asleep were still awake. Their eyes were bleary and tiredness was running through their veins.

Inside the city limits the highway was black with a yellow central line . Just as a perfect drawing colored in a children's book. But now the whole tall towers and lingering suburbia was long behind them. They had crossed outside the city officially. Still a whole 2 hours to go according to the driver.

Daya removed his cap from his head and ran his hand through the hair. More than 70 hrs had passed since the dissappearnce of Amairaah. And even now he was not sure whether he would find her where they were headed to. The future was unsure. What lied ahead wasn't known by anybody.

( Flashback )

" Tum yaha kya kar rahi ho ? Woh bhi college timings me !" Daya asked as he saw Amairaah standing at his door.

" Woh maine suna ki aapko books ka bohot shauk hai ! Toh me aapke liye kuch books leke ayi thi !" Amairaah said showing some books. Daya now understood why she was here. " Dekho..." Daya said again but Amairaah cut him saying , " Waise college ka lunch time hai. Bohot bhook lagi hai . Aapke fridge me toh jaruru kuch hoga !" Amairaah removed Daya's large hand that blocked the entry to his house and entered inside anyway.

" Hogaya lecture shuru !" Daya said in a very low voice.

Amairaah just threw her bag on the couch and went directly to the kitchen. Daya followed her and picked her bag and kept it properly on table.

" Bag ko sofe pe fekte nahi hai ! Table pe achchise rakhte hai !" Daya said to Amairaah who had grabbed and apple from the fridge and had also poured some juice for herself.

Amairaah sat very calmy on the table and started eating.

" Inn books ka kya karunga me ?" Daya said looking at the books.

" Padhoge aur kya ? Dii ne kaha tha Ki Daya ko goli lagi hai. Jakhami hai. Akele rehna chahte hai. Bla Bla bla...Toh maine socha aapke company ke liye books leke aau !" Amairaah replied.

" Are yaar Ye Shreya bhi na. Halkisi chot thi aur pehli baar thode na lagi goli. Bas 2 din ki baat hai fir toh wapas jana hi hai duty pe. Bol rahi thi ki chutti leti hu krke ek din. Lekin iski sahime koi jarurat nahi hai." Daya replied.

" I know ... I know Its perfectly fine. I mean you being a CID officer , she being a CID officer. Its completely understood. You both shouldn't care about these small things. " Amairaah said as she continued to eat apples. Daya looked at her pace. Looks like she was really hungry.

" 13 May 2018 ! " Amairaah said suddenly out of no where. " Ha kya hua tha uss din ?" Daya said. " Aapki aur meri mulakaat ko barabar 5 din. Mere pair pe kuch silencer ki wajahse chot ayi thi. Halkisi chot thi. 2-3 din ka aram aur thik hojati. Fir wapas me bhi meri duty join krne wali thi. But you cared. You cared enough to push me to a doctor. " Amairaah said as she finished another fruit.

" Kya kehna chahti ho tum ?" Daya asked confusingly .

" Yahi ki tab me apki kaun lagti thi. You shouldn't have cared that much. Lekin aapne kiya. So how can you possibly say to Shreya di - not to care. How could she not care and how would she not care ?" Amairaah said out of anger.

Daya finally understood his mistake. In the morning when Shreya was trying to help him he was being slight rude. And when Shreya told him that she will help him through the day he had declined balatantly.

" Me baat karta hu Shreya se !" Daya siad apologetically. " That is not my issue. Just felt that you should know this." Daya nodded positively.

Amairaah got up from her seat and took her bag and started to leave. Daya was still sitting in the dining area thinking about how he should apologize to Shreya when he suddenly heard Amairaah's voice, " Daya sir, At the end of the day , When it really comes down to this, all we want is to be close with somebody. So this thing where we try to keep the distance and pretend that we are fine and we need no help and no care is bullshit. So no matter how you are , you pick and choose somebody and keep them close to you. And no matter how much you hurt them they will always be by your side. These are the people worth fighting for

And sure, sometimes close can be too close. Sometimes close can be the invasion of your personal space . But sometimes this is what you exactly need. "

Amairaah said looking halfways. Daya literally took in every word of what she said. " Yeh kuch painkillers layi thi apke liye. I hope you take them." Amairaah said keeping them on the table.

When she was leaving suddenly they both heard someone sobbing. And Amairaah stuck out her tongue. " Really Shreya di ??? Really thode time ke liye toh apne aasu rok lete !" Amairaah shouted. " Kitta achcha lecture de rahi thi me apke ye khadus boyfriend ko !" She continued.

Suddenly Shreya said coming from her hiding. Daya was not understanding a thing what was going on. Amairaah took Shreya's hand and pushed her towards Daya. Shreya immediately hugged Daya.

" Sorry !" Daya said to Shreya. Shreya just tightened her hold on Daya.

" Lo sambhalo apne girlfriend ko ! Aur aap girlfriend apne boyfriend ko sambhale. Mera kaam khatam hua yaha. I will be leaving you two in peace. " Amairaah said as she picked up her car keys.

" Waise isko tum kaha se utha ke layi ?" Daya asked Amairaah. " Anna prashan band kar diya tha na iss emotional fool ne. Sir fodna hi reh gaya tha tab jake batayi baat kya hai." Amairaah said laughing. " Aur fir aapko lecture dene ka mauka me thodi na chodti !" Amairaah said winking her eye. Daya laughed looking at the innocence of his love. " Waise itti badi badi bate kaha se seekhi tu ?" Shreya asked Amairaah. " Are ye tera jo premi hai na..aise hi toh bate karta rehta hai mere sath. Family , pyar , care apne log...! Jo sunta hai usko thodi behki behki lagti hai par sunane wale ko bada maja ata hai. Ye aaj pata chala ! " Amairaah said making a hurry to leave after mocking Daya.

" Behki ki bacchi idhar aa tu !" Daya said throwing a cushion at Amairaah.

" Enjoy birdies ! " The retreating figure of Amairaah said.

After Amairaah was gone , Daya very gentlly placed a kiss on Shreya's forehead. " I am sorry jaan ! Age se pakka dhyaan rahega. " Shreya still jot leaving Daya said , " Its okay Daya. Don't worry. Aapka mood achcha ho gya. Aur kya chahiye !"...

( Present )

"Daya..!" Someone tapped on Daya's shoulder. " Daya uth !" It was Abhijeet. Daya woke up with a sudden jolt. " Haa boss pohoch gye kya ?" Daya asked. Abhineet replied , " Nahi. Abhi petrol pump pe hai hum log. Aur takriban adha paun ghanta hai. Ye lo chai piyo tabtak." Abhijeet said forwarding the glass to Daya.

The driver came and said it would take some 5-10 minutes more.

" Waise hum jis jagah jaa rahe hai , Wahape jane ka aur kou rasta hai kya ?" Abhijeet asked the driver. The driver replied , " Ek rasta hai sir aur. Par uss raste pe toh dopahar ke time pura bazaar laga rehta hai. Bohot bheed rehti hai. Toh us raste lagbhag koi bhi nahi jata." The driver said.

" Matlab agar woh log gaye honge toh isi raste se. Me petrol pump walo se Puch ke ata hu jara." Abhijeet said. He was followed by Daya.

" Are suno jara , Idhar aao !" Abhijeet said to one of the guy. " Jee saab !" The guy replied.

" Ye aaj kuch ghante pehle aya tha kya yaha pe ?" Abhijeet asked showing Rocky's foto. " Haa saab kuch ghante pehle aya tha. Bada badtameez tha. Iske sath aur 2 log the plus ek driver. Yaha pe takreeban paun ek ghanta ruke the." ACP sir and Shreya came near Abhijeet and Daya as they heard the conversation.

" Koi ladki thi kya inke sath ?" ACP sir asked. " Ladki toh dikhi nahi sahab. Haa lekin agar bus me baithi hongi toh pata nahi. Aap woh samne wale dhabe pe ekbaar puch lijiye. Wahape baithe ke chai nashta bhi kiye the. Shyd unhe kuch pata ho !" The guy said. " Kaunsi gadi thi yaad hai ? " Abhijeet asked again. " Sir gadi ka naam toh pata nahi lekin white color ki kini bus thi. Ekdum Purana aur Khatara piece tha sir. " Everybody sighed at least they were on the right path.

Everybody was proceeding towards the small eatery opposite them when suddenly Abhijeet said , " Sir aap aur Shreya jayiye ! Mujhe ye banda kuch gadbad lag raha. Me, Daya aur Inspector Shah ispe najar rakhte hai !" ACP sir nodded.

Abhijeet , Daya and Inspector Shah took their position in a three very different places and were connected by a conference call.

" Washroom jaa raha hai banda !" Abhijeet said. " Sir washroom nahi jaa raha. Abhi humse baat krne se pehle hi washroom jake aya tha. Jarur kisiko kuch khabar dene jaa raha hai !" Inspector Shah said.

" Tum dono age badho. Me piche se cover deta hu. Agar ye uss racket me involve hoga toh pata nahi yahase aur kaun kaun hoga. Jao tum dono. " Abhijeet ordered.

( Restroom )

The guy entered the room and locked the door from inside. He had a complete check whether anybody was present there or not. When he was sure about nobody's presence , he took out his cell phone and dialled a number. The call was ringing when suddenly he felt someone grabbing him from behind.

" Kisse baat krne ki itti jaldi hai bhaisaab ? Hume bhi batao jara ?" Inspector Shah came and said. " Aeyyy...tum log aise kause ghus sakte ho andar. Aur tumhe kya karna hai me kisse baat karu aur kisse nahi !" The guy said . He was a little scared from inside. A layer of cold sweat could be easily seen forming on his forehead.

" Then he saw a giant man coming towards him. He was rubbing his hands continuously and it looked like he was in full form to beat the guy in front of him. "

Suddenly a liquid crept out of the guy's pant. " Kya hua ? Bina kuch kiye hi patloon gili ho gyi ?" Daya said coming from behind. " Kisse phone pe baat kar raha tha ? **BOL . ."** Daya shouted and almost scared the crap out of that little guy

" Roc...rock...Rocky se !" The guy replied scarily. " Yahi bata rahe ho na ki hum log iss petrol pump pe aye the . Uske barine puchtach kar rahe the. " Daya asked. The guy retreated backwards because of fear and said , " Nahi saab. Maaf kardo...kisiko kuch nahi bataunga...Maaf kardo merko !" The guy cried touching Daya's feet.

" **Chal apna fone nikal aur fone laga. Laga fone. Me batata hu baat mya karni hai. Aur agar fone 1 min ke pehle rakh diya tune toh samajhlena merko adha minute nahi lagega tera kachumbar banane me. SAMJHA ..."** Daya shouted once again.

Inspector Shah took the number from Guys mobile and sent it to the controll room and asked them to track the number at this instant.

The guy dialled the number and Rocky picked it up in 2 rings. " Haa bol ?" The voice said. " Bhai CID wale aye hai yaha. Aapka foto dikhake aapki puchtach kar rahe !" The petrol pump guy said. " Toh tune kya bataya ? " The voice from the fone asked. The guy looked at Daya sir who was continiously looking at his watch. " Me kya bataunga bhai. Bas aapka foto dikhaye toh bola ki janta nahi aur Gadi band gir gyi toh 5 min ke kaam ke liye ek ghanta laga raha hu aram se. Taki aap bhag sake ! " The guy said. " Chal shabash. Apna kaam chalu rakh tu ! " The voice said as he hung up the fone.

" Ek min 5 second " Daya said. " Shah , kya ye call track ho sakta hai ?" He asked further. " Hona toh chahiye sir , Anything above 30 seconds is good enough ! Intezaar krte hai controll room ke call ka !" Inspector Shah replied.

And soon his fone rang . He went on to receive the call. " Aur tu...Tera toh kachumbar banaunga me. Chal tu mere sath !" Daya said almost puahing the guy out of restroom.

" Daya sir , Abhijeet sir. Number trace ho gaya. Ye number pichle ek ghante se ek hi location pe hai. Sir yaha se kuch hi doorek mandvi naam ka gao hai bilkul.samundar kinare. Waha trace hua hai ye fone. "

" Toh chalo fir , Deri kis baat ki !" And all the team again with a new hope started towards thier new destination.

( River bank )

" Bichari Amairaah Sharma ! Baap military me tha uske wajahse pure pariwar ko kya kya sehna pada ! Daya ati hai mujhe kabhi kabar tum logo pe !" Amairaah heard someone say. The drug she had been injected with was slowly wearing off once again.

" Kaisa lag raha hai dhoop dekh kar ?" The guy asked again. Amairaah didn't respond. She could hear the waves crashing. And her phobia was setting in now. " Dekhlo achchi tarikese dhoop dekhlo. Waise bhi sham hone me hai. Aur ye tumhare Zindagi ki akhri dhoop ho sakti hai !" The guy said.

Suddenly she heard the engine being started and she had a bump. Looks like she was on a boat. Yet again.

The speed boat started to move and suddenly the speed incresed so much that waves crashed making Amairaah wholly wet. It was as if there were speed bumps on the sea. Yes she was on the sea. She could tell that because some water had entered her mouth and it was quite salty.

Her teeth voluntarily chopped down after each bump and she kept her leg braced for some support. Every body around her wearing a life jacket except for her.

She saw the driver pressing on the engine even more to attain some speed. With an increse in the speed the boat bounced more and more on the water slapping the waves as it crashed down with them. On the next impact the boat didn't crack but it almost flipped.

" Bhai thoda dhire chala.Apne ek bande ne apan ko ek aur ghante ka waqt diya hai !" Rehmab said.

" Koi ek ghanta aur nahi ! Abhi ke abhi hum is baat ko khatam kr rahe hai !" The senior guy said coming from behind as he grabbed Amairaah by the neck and made her stand almost on the apex of the boat. He ordered another guy to cover her head and drug her again.

Amairaah closed her eyes and chanted God's name. Was this really the end. Was she too late to pray for her life.

The whole CID team actually had failed in searching for her.

And the another wave hit and she fell down once again.

The day was coming to an end. The light had almost gone. And from what Amairaah saw within 5 minutes it was pretty secluded area in the sea. So no point of asking for help. The recent crash had made her almost tumble in water. But she had held herself with one hand. She didn't knew for how much time she would last like this hanging for her life before the drug overtakes her once again.

She was musing over all these questions when suddenly she heard a gun shot.

The gun shot cracked in the air as loud as a thunder but with the absence of a storm.

Two bullets hit Amairaah into the stomach. They propelled her in a backward direction in an awkward cartwheel. She fell into the sea immediately after that. For a few seconds she looked up at the sky as if trying to admire it for one last time and then suddenly black waves folded her.

Amairaah was drowning. But after thirty second with some effort she came up to the surface But she drowned again. Her legs tired and struggling to bring back her to the surface. She couldn't hear the world anymore now. Her hair rose up like a seaweed creating ripples in water.

Like some superhuman efforts she rose again but withinn a splash she sank again

This time faster. Her heart giving out .

No one was looking for her. No one was coming for her.No one had seen her.

Perhaps this is how it ends...


	28. Chapter 27

Aditi : Thanks aditi..Well the flashback was not actually in the plan. It just flowed through !!!!

Sakshi B : Thank you sakshi for your understanding. And I will always try to give my best no matter what.

Sanussanu : Thank you ji ! Hum aapko kya likha sikhayenge. Hun toh khud ek nau sikhiye hai. Aap apni kalam uthake dekhiye shyd aapn bhi kamal kar denge.

Apparna : Yes Aparna . It really helped me and you dont how happy I get when I get a notification of a review. Thank you so much !

Riya : This time its an early update...enjoy dear.

Guest : Yes You have identified it correctly ! I haven't changed any outline of the characters just added another dimension. And age ke writing ka most probably I will start another story just after finishing this. I was thinking about that. Lets see what happens.

Guest : Thank you. More that readers I guess I , myself have learned a lot from this story. Over this past year I have changed and changed for good. And that's what we want right - our growth. So make sure that your growth game is strong !!

Chapter 27

Darkness enveloped her and filled her with some dread. She held her breathe as long as she could , too long in fact. And in that moment a sudden coolness washed her over and she knows she is already dead. In no time she will just be a body of bones and flesh floating on the surface like a seaweed.

Amairaah had totally given up now. She had no expectations left just that she wasn't able to see the world in her last minutes. A red color aura surrounded her inside water. She had even started gulping down the water when suddenly she fell a strong pull. Somebody was pulling her. Amairaah was pulled out from her almost unconscious state to a conscious one. The pull was harsh. Very harsh. Maybe some of the guys had came down just to make sure she was dead.

Well they didn't need to do that. She was almost gone now. The bleeding won't stop and she wasn't getting any air and moreover her lungs were filled with water now. She had even surpassed the stage of being saved.

So she closed her eyes again waiting for her fate.

Some say when you are in the last moments of dying you see a robed skeleton holding a scythe.

Some say you see an eternal light that takes you to heaven or hell.

Some say you sleep for whole eternity.

Some say you watch your life in front of you in the last few minutes.

But Amairaah was having none. Neither she was seeing some monster who would take away her soul , neither she saw an eternal light and neither she was having a whole recap of her life.

She was just hearing laughter. The laughter when Shreya , Daya and herself had on their face the day Shreya returned. The sound in her mind was so pronounced that she would hear it even if it was a mile away. And slowly she moulded her body as if she was hugging them again.

Amairaah snuggled in the hugs which she felt stronger than ever. She felt a strong pair of arms hold her and give her the warmth that she needed in her last moments. She knew she was somewhat hallucinating. There would be no arms around her now but the feeling made her feel so warm in the cold ,dark and deep sea that she didn't want to leave that cocoon.

Suddenly Amairaah felt one more pull again but she didn't care. This hug was her life and she would live in it till the end.

The moment felt so familiar. A lovely sort of deja vu. But this time someone very harshly held her by upper arm and pulled her again. It was a very harsh push and was one with very strong arms.

Suddenly she felt the heavy pressure under which she was vanish all the way. The black clothe that had been all over her face got stuck to it making it clear that she was in the air again.

" Inhale !" She heard a voice. In shock Amairaah moves her arms like she is trying to climb a rock but they just splashed the thin liquid on which she was floating.

Her hands were again being held strongly and she was being bought closer to someone. Her brain wnet in full panic mode. Through her unco-ordinated moments and clawing though the thin liquid she feels somebody removing the black clothe.

As soon as her face was uncovered , from her lips came an explosion of air bubbles moving away from her at a peculiar angle.

Her thoughts were groggy but she heard the voice again , " Come on with me , ...Inhale ..."

And when Amairaah completely recognised the voice she hold on to that person like never before.

She didn't care if she would die in the next 5 minutes but she held on to him.

No she didn't have a script for this and neither did she knew if the correct words were present somewhere but somehow she knew that she was at peace now whether dead or alive.

Amairaah felt stable in the horrific waves. She felt as if whatever would come it was not going to wash her away.

She heard the voices in between , " Come on ! Stay with me !" But her body was devoid of any any energy. It was a so contradictory situation. She wanted to be happy and smile again but would she be able to do it.

" Amu...Akhe khuli !" She heard the man shouting again. With every ounce of energy she had remaining she opened her eyelids halfway.

Amairaah could trace the outline of Daya's face in the dark. And she knew she didn't need to worry anymore. He looked so confident when he was on his job. The brick wall that had saved her today had been her cocoon for the last one year. And he had promised her that he would never let her be alone . And in each turn of life he had fulfilled them.

( In an unconscious mind )

" There are moments Amairaah. There are some so beautiful moments. Moments that change your life in a split of a second. And before you know , you are totally in a different space. " Kavya's words echoed through Amairaah's mind.

Amairaah couldn't remember when she died . She only remembered that she had passed on.

( Flashback )

With half open eyes Anairaah saw Daya waving his hands at someone. And that was the last thing that she had ever seen.

Although she felt that she was being carried away somewhere but her body had started giving away.

The pain that once burned like a fire had faded away to an icy numbness. Amairaah's vision had completely gone down and the only thing she could hear was her own heart beat.

Her breathing came in ragged and shallow gasps. She could hear voices of people.

" Amu...!" This was the voice of Shreya almost half crying. Oh !! days had passed since she heard this voice. She felt contended because this meant that Shreya was safe. " Abhijeet ambulance ko call karo jaldi !" The voice of ACP sir. That was the last thing she wanted to hear and now she can die in peace. Although she could hear some voices here and there about people trying to save her , she was now least interested.

People had swarmed all over her trying to save her. If she could , Amairaah would have surely laughed. With a single look anyone could tell that , Amairaah was too far from being saved. She closed her eyes hoping to exit the world that had took everyone she loved away from her. But her heart sank at that thought. The same world had taught her the meaning of life in her last year.

Some new people had came into her life and her life had blossomed like never before. The trust issues had vanished and her family had started to take a shape. Only if she could live for some years more , She would have died very very happy. But even now Amairaah was contended with a short but sweet happiness that she had been blessed with.

Seconds passed as she lay their and then she knew no more...

( Present )

The voice changed. This time it was Shreya's. It was the same sentence that Amairaah thought had a deep meaning behind it. " Amairaah , Sometimes faith is a funny thing. It turns up when you don't expect it too ! The fairy tale that you imagined may be slight different from the dream. The castle , well , may not be the the castle. And its not important to be happily ever after. It's just that you are happy now. Once in a while , Once in a blue moon people will surprise you. Once in a while your life may even take your breathe away !"

Amairaah's breathe choked at that thought. She started coughing and trying to get rid away of all the things that were blocking her air. " Code blue ! Code blue !" She heard someone say. Amairaah thought to herself - Its not code blue you idiot women. Just remove the oxygen mask and just let me breathe on my own !. The doctor came in instantly and ordered to remove all the nasal tubes and the respiratory assitance device as Amairaah was already choking up on them.

And now all she could she could see were some blue pair of gloves all over her face...

( Corridor )

The hospital hallway had literally no personality like the other one. The floor was slatey grey and the walls dove. The ceiling consisted of polystyrene tiles perfectly fitted in a grid. There was no openness , no space , nothing shines and yes that irritating smell of disinfectants.

The lights were too bright as compared to the darkness outside the window. They could even trigger Shreya's migraine.

A telivision was hung in one corner showing boring commercials.

Shreya was too anxious to read any of the magazines or to watch the TV. So she just tapped her foot impatiently and watched the door that was in front of her.

Everyone else was back at the hotel room. They tried to take turns but Shreya denied it. These people had already done enough for her. At least she could let them sleep for sometime.

Suddenly her nose was filled by a whiff of caffeine flavour. Shreya looked up and saw Abhijeet holding a cup of coffee in front of her.

" Are sir aap yaha ? Itne raat gye ? Thoda so lete !" Shreya said as she took the coffee cup from her senior. She was in desparate need of one.

" Bas nind khul gyi thi. Toh socha ek baar ake dekh Leta hu !" Abhijeet said as they both drank the hot drink.

" Kal me aur ACP sir Mumbai ke liye nikal rahe hai ! Wahape koi senior officer nahi hai na !" Abhijeet told Shreya. " Daya kuch din rukega aur jab uski jarurat wahape hogi toh me Tarika ko bhej dunga !" Abhijeet continued.

Now all the responsibilities suddenly dawned upon Shreya. In all these days she had completely forgotten about her life in Mumbai. She nodded positively.

" Abhijeet sir !" Shreya said to him

He looked at Shreya as she was engrossed in sipping the coffee.

" It's been quite a time that I have felt how it feels to be a part of family ! Thank you !"

Shreya said . Abhijeet smiled at her realization.

The last year was surely a roller coaster for them. At every point it had demanded to stand strong. But he was happy for his brother. He had found someone. Someone who was going to cherish him all through the life.

Abhijeet was saying something when suddenly they heard some kind of alarm coming from Amairaah's room. This worried them . And in the next moment they saw two doctors running inside.

What was happening. They were not supposed to enter the ICU . They could only see the hustle and bustle.

This worried Shreya and Abhijeet. They made way in front of the door waiting for the doctor.

After 10 mins of time the doctor came out. She had a posture of a soldier. Every action she took was purposeful. She smiled from a distance in cold just as the way professionals do. Shreya didn't like this expression though. She was not sure how she should reply. The doctor came near them. Her eyes were without any makeup and her hair were tied in a messy bun which let out too many strands.

" She is breathing on her own now ! Its a very good news at this hour night !" The doctor said. The two cops looked astonished at each other. They didn't understand a word or rather they didn't have any energy in them to listen properly.

" Jee matlab ?" Abhijeet asked. The doctor's voice was deep and had a rich silky tone. Very calmy she took Shreya's both hands in her and said , " Amairaah ko abhi bahar se oxygen supply dene ki jarurat nahi. Her lungs are capable of doing it now. Its actually a miracle in itself . Aise cases me toh parivaar wale toh kya hum doctors bhi jyada umeed lagake nahi baithte but I guess we have a fighter amongst us !" The doctor's face had a smile plastered as she told all of this.

Relief washed over Abhijeet and Shreya's surface. The things that had kept Shreya up for a past day had melted into nothing.

" Abhi bhi kuch vitals stable hone ke hai. Uske liye hum unhe kal subah tak ICU me hi rakhenge and if it turns out to be fine, we will shift her to the genereal ward !" The doctor said watching the happiness on Shreya's face.

The doctor took their leave after she answered some of the questions . Shreya took out her mobile and was dialling Daya's number when suddenly Abhijeet stopped her.

" Kal subah Amairaah ko surprise dene do use ! " Abhijeet said. Shreya quite didn't understand what he was trying to say.

" Inn sare dino me shyd Daya bata nahi paya par Daya ne bhi Amairaah ko bohot jyada miss kiya. Tum hi socho jab woh subha yaha ayega aur Amairaah ko ICU ki jagah ek normal room me payga ...Uske chehre ki khushi socho !"

" Believe me , even if i have to get to the end of the world , I will find her !" Daya's voice echoed through Shreya's mind.

And once upon a time when the world had been a total upside down and she had felt all alone one man had stayed and made the world right again.

( Morning )

A warm smile from receptionist greeted Daya as he entered the building. He had slept for quite a long now. And the sleep was so horribly needed.

Daya was walking through the corridors to get on the third floor. That's where the ICU was located but then suddenly a room with sight open door caught his eye.

The room was devoid of any beauty. The walls were plain peach and the floor grey just as the corridors. A small beam of light got inside through the iron windows directly on the person sleeping in a very uncomfortable position on the couch.

Shreya never had a problem falling asleep in an uncomfortable position. She could sleep on a chair , couch , in a railway station waiting room or even just a stool. All she needed was the urge to sleep. She was kinda looking cute today. Her hair splattered over her face. Hands very lightly holding on to the mobile phone to which earphones were attached. Her legs folded enough to adjust herself on the small area of chair.

And then Daya looked in front. He saw Amairaah silently sleeping on the bed. He started doing his calculations - last night when he talked with Shreya , Amairaah was still in ICU and now she was in a general room. When did that happen. Why didn't Shreya informed him. Even Abhijeet was at the hospital for sometime. Probably he knew about this.

Daya turned towards Shreya to ask her all the questions that had gathered in his mind but as soon as he saw her sleeping peacefully the idea just vanished.

He then moved towards the bed and stroked Amairaah's head with utmost love and care. He had missed this girl. In literally a span of one week , Amairaah appeared as a tiny figure. Her head was half covered in bandages and so were the limbs. The surgery to remove the bullets from her abdomen had went well but she had massive amount of bloodloss.

There were still a number of tubes running here and there but the oxygen mask was missing and that was big and a happy news .

Daya straightened her blanket and let her sleep in peace.

Daya then went near Shreya. Very slowly he removed the earplugs from her ears and paused the music. He kept the cell phone on a small table besides. Then gently stroking her head he said , " Shreya , Chalo utho aur hotel me jake aram karo !" Shreya rolled a little bit in her position but didn't asnwer Daya's question.

" Shreya...!!" Daya said a little louder . A little louder but still very low , he didn't want to wake up Amairaah. Shreya then turned towards Daya and reclined herself against the strong arm of Daya and fell asleep again. Daya smiled at that. Both of the sisters surely didn't like waking up.

" Daya...!" Shreya said in a very sleepy tone.

" Hmm..!" replied Daya.

" I love you !" Shreya said out of no where. Daya was shocked on hearing it all of a sudden. He kinda blushed. It was a kind of blush that showed his soul. The moment had a delicate sweetness within.

" Achcha ji ?" Daya asked Shreya with a big smile on his face.

Shreya just nodded her head positively. She was also blushing just as Shreya. But just that she had her eyes closed.

" Aur aapko me mujhse dur kabhi bhi jane nahi dungi !" Shreya said again. And this time she tightened her hold and the upper arm of Daya and inhaled his so familiar scent of cologne. The scent had suddenly started to calm her.

"Jaise aapki marzi !" Daya said planting a kiss on Shreya's forehead.

The forehead kiss meant respect , it meant protection. And it contained a strong gesture of promise that ' I have always got your back '.

( Late morning )

Amairaah's consciousness came into being after hearing a very light buzzing sound around her. She remembered the last night when she had choked. And then they had given her some drug to calm her down. She could feel the beaming sunlight behind her eyelids. A orangish hue had already formed on them. She wanted to open her eyes but her brain was a flat battery. So using every ounce of energy she had she opened her eyelids half way through.

Amairaah saw a pale room around . Sunlight crept through the very rustic window behind her. There were a lots of machines that she had been hooked to that were making a continuous beeping sound.

At the front she saw two people sitting arm in arm fast asleep. The strong guy had wrapped around his arm completely around the girl. They were in their most angelic form. Suddenly Amairaah eyes fell on a shiney object on Shreya's finger.

Amairaah tried to focus on exacy what it was. After about focussing for 5 mins she knew it was ring. It shone brilliantly due to the sinlight falling on it. Amairaah hadn't seen it before. So that means only thing.

In all this fiasco , some little things had came out for which Amairaah had desperately waited. A light smile crept on her on the realization.

Love had finally blossomed !!!!


	29. Chapter 28

Aditi : Thank you aditi..Yes the judgement day is near.

Laksara : So happy to see you after a long time. Hope you are doing well.

Sanussanu : Thank you !! If you are happy , that's the most beautiful thing for me. I am making someone's day better. What else can I ask for.

Sunhatasyousay : Yeah ! I try to update Tuesdays but yesterday was just kind of busy. Sorry to keep you waiting. Here goes your next phase of togetherness.

Guest : Thank you. I hope you enjoy this one also.

Guest : Thank you ! I dont know where do I get the ideas for romantic moments. They just flow out of nowhere...

Guest : Hey !! Finally here is an update !

Sakshi B : Hey I missed you..I hope you liked this chapter ...lots of love...

Chapter 28

Amairaah's head was foggy. Like she was drunk on heavy amount of alcohol even though she didn't have a drop of it in her system. It was as if every eyelash weighed more than it should. Amairaah knew that someone was trying to wake her up. She could hear name being called out. A further tap on her shoulder confirmed it. She tried to open her heavy eyes. Amairaah could see that someone was looking at her directly into her eyes but she couldn't keep focus. It was as if the whole world was a low quality movie.

Somebody was trying to pull her out of the unconscious state.

" Amairaah !" She heard the voice echoed through her mind. She tried to focus giving in all she ever had.

When finally Amairaah's eyelids were half open she could she 2 almond shaped eyes staring directly into her.

" Amairaah can you hear me ?" The voice spoke again. The eyes were unknown and Amairaah couldn't even predict the voice.

Suddenly she felt someone hold her hand.

A familiarity wash through her hand. The touch transferred warmth in this cold and blue atmosphere. The arms were tough and the skin felt like it was having some wrinkles. This was her gaurdian. This was ACP Pradyuman. He was here and she was safe. So even though the voice and the eyes felt unknown to her , Amairaah decided to respond.

Amairaah nodded her head a little. She was still very weak to carry out the daily normal movements. So putting in all her energy she she nodded her head to respond positively to the question being asked.

" Good !" Said the voice. " Now can you follow this ?" The voice continued. And suddenly Amairaah saw a small circle of light moving to and fro in front of her eyes. She tried to look at it but it was moving to fast.

" This response is good too !" The voice continued again. Amairaah then felt a cold metal being pressed against her chest at multiple position.

" All good !" The voice finally said.

Suddenly the door opened forcefully and one to two people entered.

" Doctor ? Sab thik hai na ?" The female voice asked. It was her sister's. " Kal bich bich me thode thode time ke liye akh khol rahi thi. It is a good sign right ?" Came another male voice. Of course It was Daya.

" Yes officers . Everything is perfectly fine. Her vitals are very very normal. And she is on her speedy way to recovery. Just as I have said before , we didn't expect much. But she surprised us in quite a way. Looks like we have fighter amongst us !" The doctor said with a cheerful smile.

" And yes , She is trying to keep herself awake but she is just too tired to do that. So we let her rest for the time being !" The doctor replied keeping a hand on Shreya's shoulder assuring her as she left.

The bad times had finally passed. The happiness could be seen on ACP sir's face. The emotions that he had been holding on for too long were now let loose. His eyes showed some shine evident of the tears that formed within. A heavy load was lifted off his chest.

( Flashback )

Both the friends were sipping a cup of hot brewing coffee the gardens of the mansion.

" Yaar Deven , kuch bhi bol betiyaan hoti hi badi pyari hai ! " Pradyuman said to his friend. He continued again , " Mere naseeb me toh beti thi nahi aur beta...tumhe toh pata hi hai !" Deven kept his cup on the table and assured his friend , " Tu bhi na Pradyuman , kaha purani purani bate lekar baithata hai ! Aur meri beti teri bhi toh beti hui na. " ACP sir smiled at the big heart of his friend.

" Waise bhi apni job aisi hai kya pata kal jake tumhe hi unhe sambhalna pade !" Deven said looking towards the beautiful sunset that was folding in front of him.

Then ACP replied, " Aisa soch ke..." . The voice of ACP was cut by his friend's youngest daughter. " Kya baba aap bhi...! Mujhe toh lagta hai aapko adat hi ho gyi hai aisa sochneki. " Amairaah said coming from behind and sitting besides her father on the lawn resting her head on her father's lap.

" Adat nahi beta...bas aapki fikar lagi rehti hai !" Deven replied strkoing Amairaah's hair.

Amairaah very calmly looked her father. The was a different kind of serene plastered on her face.

" Papa..Aapne hi toh sikhaya tha na. Iss mulk ke samne mujhe apna aap dikhayi nahi deta. Me hi mulk hu..me hi toh Hindustan hu...Aap chinta mat karo. Aapki saso par humse jyada iss mulk ka haq hai. Aur agar aap waha border par humare barime sochte rahe toh mulk ki kaun raksha krega. Bas aisa sochiye ki jab aap jung pe jate hai toh pura Wankhede stadium aapke liye cheer kar raha hai. Deven...Deven...aisa..Aur pure stadium ke bich me , me..aapki beti ...The centre of attraction as always...aapke liye sabse jyada cheer kregi...!"

Both the men smiled at the matured behavior that Amairaah showed. She was merely 13 at that time but the love that she showed for her country could be sensed in every word she spoke.

" Deven...Mujhe mere samne humare army ki first female general dikhayi de rahi hai ! " ACP Pradyuman said. Deven smiled and said , " Baat toh sahi keh rahe ho Pradyuman ! Waise bhi tujhe hi sambhalna hai tere iss ladli bacchi ko. Hume filhal humari dusri ladli ki khwaish puri karne jana hai ." Amairaah and Pradyuman smiled at each other and hugged. They were quite close from the beginning and the bond strengthened due to their immense love for motherland.

" Waise Pradyuman uncle...aap mujhe apne ghar pe rehne bula sakte hai !" Amairaah said out of nowhere. " Kuch khas wajah ?" ACP Pradyuman asked while sipping his coffee and not diverting his eyes away from it.

" Haa...aapke dost itteme jara jyada strict hore. My life is getting difficult here day by day. Bhagwan me kaise jiyungi yaha..." Amairaah said childishly and in typical teenager way totally filled with Drama.

ACP Pradyuman laughed at her theatrics. He got up from his place and put an arm around Amairaah's shoulder and said , " Chalo...lets talk to your strict pitaji then...!" And they both went happily inside the house.

( Present )

ACP Pradyuman stroked his daughter's hair very lovingly. How close he had come to losing her. How he had miserably failed his responsibility to protect her. What if Amairaah couldn't return. ACP sir's chest tightened on these thoughts.

Suddenly he felt someone rough hands being kept over his other hand. He looked at it and saw that it was Amairaah's. Her once plump hands were now thin and frail. The sking was roughened and there were red crimson discoloration around her knuckles.

ACP Pradyuman became sad on looking her hands but then he noticed that her hands were trying to assure him something. He then looked at her tired eyes. Even though her eyes looked like they could sleep any moment now , the blue irises carried an immense amount of warmth in them. An emotion made way from Amairaah's eyes directly to her father's heart. An emotion saying that - its okay, We all are okay..And in the end only that matters. And the way she looked at ACP sir , even time had to take a minute and soak in silence that had never been so loud.

Suddenly ACP Peadyuman felt another hand kept on his shoulder. He knew this was Shreya . He looked at her with his love filled eyes.

Finally everything had settled into place once again.

" Sir..Abhijeet aapse baat karna chahta hai !" Daya said coming inside the room and handing the fone to his senior. ACP sir nodded and made his way outside.

" Me coffee leke ati hu sabke liye !" Shreya said taking some loose change and bringing some refreshment for her collegues.

Daya was still standing at the door waiting for everybody to clear the room. The room had become quite heavy. It was going to be coz everyone was finally stripped off their emotion. Everyone had finally let go.

He looked towards Amairaah and smiled. His smile was not a very big one that extended from molar to molar. Instead a small one. Basically he had no words. It was for the first that Amairaah thought that Daya had no words to speak at all.

He just came by her side and sat on the small stool that was provided. He took Amairaah's hand in his and looked at the injuries. His blood boiled looking at that. The guy is gone he thought in his mind.

But Amairaah tried to relieve her hands from his. Daya tried to hold it in one place because he didn't want her to do any extra movements. It was already too damaged. But Amairaah wouldn't listen. She freed it and opened Daya's fist completely. With her index finger she started writing on his palms. Daya looked at it closely to see what was she writing.

" F...I...N...E ! Fine ??" Daya asked and Amairaah nodded. " Ooo..I am fine ? Is that what you wanna say ?" He asked again. Amairaah nodded positively. He laughed at that ! Amairaah then started to write another word. " B...A...D...H...A...I...!" Amairaah wrote again. Daya asked " Kiske liye ?" Amairaah started writing " R...I...N...G ...S...H...R...E...Y...A ! Daya blushed on seeing that. " Badmash bachchi ! Chalo aram karo tum ! Bohot bate ho gyi aaj ke liye !" Daya said as he straightened the blanket. He got up from his stool when suddenly he was stopped by Amairaah's hand. The words had failed Amairaah. She couldn't say anything . But Daya saw small tear escaping through her eyes. Her index finger again wrote T...H...A...N...K...Y...O...U...

Daya came back and sat besides her. With the pad of his thumb he gently wiped off that single tear streming down her eyes.

He smiled at her once again. And this time it was a big smile. " Hey...listen to me ..." Daya said caressing her hair . " What did we learn last time ?" Daya asked in a very loving voice.

" Not to go in the past !...Right ?" Daya answered the question for Amairaah. Amairaah nodded. He continued , " So we stay here ! Happy , contended and most importantly at peace." Amairaah nodded once again. " Are we clear champ ?" Daya asked. And Amairaah nodded positively once again. " Good ! Rest for now. " Daya said closing the curtains behind her to block the sun. He left saying that.

( Corridor )

" Daya , Abhijeet ka Phone aya tha. Hume abhi 2 ghante me nikalna hoga. Shreya yaha rukegi aur tum kal subah ki flight se wapas aaoge !" ACP sir said to Daya.

" Sir agar aap ko jarurat hogi toh me bhi aapke sath ajata hu. Waise bhi I don't think there is much to worry now !" Daya said looking at Shreya. Shreya nodded fully suppoting Daya. Afterall she knew , Now all these guys were needed in Mumbai. So she didn't hesitate. Not even a bit.

" Nahi Daya , aaj shyd court me case filing ki procedure start hogi. So you are needed here. Fir kal subah toh ana hi hai !" ACP sir said ordering Daya.

" Yes Sir !" Daya said obeying the commands.

Daya went a little far to make some calls about tommorow's flights.

" Amairaah ka dhyaan rakhna Shreya aur khud ka bhi. Tum dono mere jigar tukde ho. Itne asanise kho nahi sakta tumhe !" ACP sir said to Shreya as soon as he got to be with her alone.

" Yes sir !" Shreya responded. ACP sir kept his hand on her head playfully. " Chalo tum andar jao. Mujhe aur Abhijeet ko nikalna hoga abhi ! Mumbai pohochte hi call krte hai hum !" ACP sir said as he took her leave.

Shreya signalled to a talking Daya that she is going inside the room.

( Amairaah's room )

Daya entered the room and saw that Amairaah was fast asleep. Shreya was very quitely talking on phone with someone. Daya came and sat besides her. He asked her to whom she was talking . Shreya mouthed to him thay she was talking to Radhabai. After about 10 minutes Shreya kept the phone. Daya said to her " Thodi der baad court jake ata hun ! Waha kya majra hai dekh ke ana pdega !" Shreya nodded as they sat silently. They were still tired. After about 15 mins when Daya got up to leave for court ,Shreya held his hand and asked him to seat.

" Kya hua ?" Daya asked. Shreya looked down and said. " Woh me bas soch rahi thi. You are the guy that doesn't need anyone. You are the one that everyone needs." Daya quite didn't understand to where this conversation was headed.

" Matlab ?" He asked in surprise.

" Daya...Sr. Inspector Daya...most of the time you help unknown people. You help Abhijeet , You help ACP sir , You help Rahul, You help Sachin, Pankaj , Purvi . And here you are helping me and helping Amairaah. " Shreya said still looking down.

" Shreya me abhi bhi kuch samjha nahi !" Daya said again.

" Don't you ever need anybody Daya ?" Shreya said finally looking at him.

Daya smiled at her slightly not saying anything.

" Tum ho na mere liye !!" Daya finally said to her.

Shreya smiled and nodded her head. They both exchanged a look .

A look exchanging a thousand words. A look exchanging a thousand vows. A look beyond their eyes , A look beyond their hearts with the eyes directly looking at their soul.

A tale told , A tale foresaid , A tale awaiting for the days ahead.

( Afternoon )

Amairaah was fast asleep. Shreya knew that. But there she was sitting besides Amairaah talking to her anyway.

" These past 4 years have been very very difficult. I know. We have been through a lot. You have been through a lot. But everything is fine now. I know we never actually got such time to talk alone.

Par darr lagta tha tujhse baat krte krte. Aisa lagta tha ki teri nazron me , me hi gunhegaar hu. "

Shreya's voice stuttered as she started uttering those words.

" Bohot bate krni thi tujhse..bohot... Par koi nahi. Raat gyi baat gyi. Abhi me tujhe bilkul chod ke nahi jaungi. Kabhi akele nahi chodungi.

You have been a very strong girl. Shyd tumhari jagah me hoti toh kabki tut jati. But you my brave sister, I am so much proud of you. So So much that you can't even imagine."

Saying this Shreya kissed the forehead of her sister. Promising her that she would never leave her alone.

(Evening )

The whole day passed with Shreya sitting besides Amairaah. Amairaah had hardly woken up after morning. She was completely asleep the whole afternoon.

Shreya softly opened the window behind Amairaah so as to let in some air. The afternoon colors had softened. The soothing evening breeze washed in and the sound of birds came . Sun was sinking lower in the sky and the light was fading away.

Daya came inside wearing formal clothes amd carrying some files. He kept the files on the nearby table and took his seat.

Shreya poured him a glass of water and Daya drank it in a whole go. He was really thirsty.

" Aapne lunch kiya na ?" Shreya asked. Daya nodded.

" ACP sir aur Abhijeet Mumbai pohoch gye !" Daya said to Shreya.

Shreya nodded and took the files into her hands.

" Kaunsi date mili hai case ki ?" Shreya asked with a little worry.

" 15 din baad ki !" Daya replied.

Daya saw the worry wash over Shreya's face. It was but obvious for her.

Daya smiled and took her hands in his own.

" Shreya , tum chinta mat karo. Maine special application likhi thi. For security and personal reasons Jab Amairaah aur tumhari gawahi lenge. Tab waha sirf judge aur kuch police authorities rahenge. It will be a completely private affair. "

Shreya then smiled contently. Amairaah wouldn't be that well to face tha court matters all over again.

" Kal subah 7:30 bje ki flight hai meri ! " Daya said. Shreya was sad upon hearing this but she knew Daya was needed there. So she happily agreed to his decisions.

They were continuing there talk when they were interrupted by the doctor.

" Good evening officers !" The doctor said cheerfully. " Good evening doctor !" Shreya replied. " How is she ? Din bhar kuch takleef to nahi hui na ?" The doctor asked moving towards Amairaah's bed.

" Nahi doctor ! Din bhar se so hi rahi hai !" Shreya replied.

The doctor checked for vitals. They were normal.

Amairaah was half awaked by now. She smiled lightly.

" Me thode time me kisiko bhejti hu ! Woh ye feeding tube nikal dega. Let's start her on solid foods from tonight." The doctor said signing some files.

And Shreya and Daya were cloud nine. Things couldn't get much better.

Even Amairaah felt giddy with excitement. She wanted to run and shout and tell people that finally she was onto her own. But she had to wait. Adrenaline coursed through her body. And even though tired, her eyes showed pure happiness.

It was a kind day afterall. The happinees on everybody's face lay still. These were the movements to be cherished and loved. The quite ones. The one without any noise like that of telephone or that of clock. The sound that was present was that or the light breeze coming from the window. Though Shreya was standing on the floor she felt like she was already on the clouds.

Finally life had settled down !


	30. Chapter 29

Sakshi : Thank you Sakshi for the constant motivation that you have been providing me through out my journey. Love you as always. !!!

Aditi : Thank you Aditi ! The strongest pillar of mine.

Guest : I have some scenes planned ahead. But I wanna know exactly what your wish is ? Do you want arrogant Amairaah back ? Just drop in any suggestions and I would try to fulfill it . Pakka promise !.

Sunhat : Will amu join CID ?? Will she..Aaahhh..I don't may be I have something better planned for her. Keep reading to find out more.

Guest : Kash aisa ho ki ji chiz achchi lagti hai uska koi end na ho ! But the more aptly it ends the more valuable it would be !

Guest : Yes aapne sahi kaha ki Daya jaisa insan har kisike life hona chahiye. But before thinking this just keep in mind that you have to the hero of your own story. Cause in real life , there is no prince charming. In real life their is no saving !!

Chapter 29

' **What is hope ? A thing that keeps us alive or a thing that drives our minds to insanity. A feeling that you can rise no matter how deep you have sunked in or an adrenaline that drives us insane to make us live when we are already dead.** **Actually** **it is both. Just as the tears , that are shed in both extreme happiness and extreme sadness, hope gives us an assurance to live while we are already dead.** **Is** **it good to have it then ? Yes of course why not ! But the level to which it can drive man insane is horrible. Hope gives us a reason to not accept the defeat. But in reality its the denial . We deny that we are losing. We deny that we are scared. Denial...funny isn't it ? , sounds like " The Nile " ..( Of course if you pronounce it in a particular way !) . But Denial, It's not just a river in Egypt my friend , It's a freaking ocean...** '

Shreya read in a very whispering kind of voice from a diary. She was astonished at how deep her little sister could think and write. She was impressed by her skills. The diary was secured from the bag of Amairaah from the boat from which she was shot. And it contained some exquisite peices of writing. Shreya took a sip from the mug that was kept besides her. It was 6 in the morning. Shreya had a good sleep last night. Even Amairaah had a good sleep. She had tried to eat on her own at dinner. But owing to her injuries shreya had to feed her small small portions.

Amairaah still couldn't get out of bed. There were stitches in her abdominal area because of the bullets. She couldn't put much pressure on them or make susceptible to movements more than they could take. She didn't want them to rupture. Amairaah had seen the stitches last night when the nurse had come to change the dressing. A long recovery path was surely on it's way.

Shreya was up early today. She had ro wake up Daya for his morning flight. Although Daya was man of discipline and he didn't need anybody for such meagre things. But Shreya made sure that he was up by the time. Shreya was teaching him the art of relaxing. Or more of depending on other people. Or both.

The same teachings that Daya gave to Amairaah and Shreya gave to Daya. Tarika had once asked Shreya that why does she do such small things for Daya when he was perfectly capable of doing it on his own.

( Flashback )

" Kya Shreya...tum bhi na itti choti choti baat Daya ko yaad dilati rehti ho ! Goli li ki nahi ? Kal k suitcase me ye saman dala ki nahi ? Kal subah aapko ekbaar call krke utha dungi !" Tarika said to Shreya as the three girls of the CID were having a coffee at a cafe.

" Tarika sahi keh rahi Shreya ! Aisa karne se pata hai log dependent ho jayenge choti choti bato pe !" Purvi said suppoting Tarika .

Shreya smiled at that. " Daya already bohot independent hai Tarika. I know he doesn't need anyone. Bit isn't it the greatest feeling the world that despite not needing anyone you have that one person by your side !" Shreya said as she sipped her coffee.

" Main samjhi nahi Shreya ...!" Purvi said out of confusion.

Shreya smiled again , " Dekho Purvi ! Bate jarur bohot choti choti si hai. Lekin abhi tum hi dekhlo humari duty aisi hai ki we are tired for literally 20 hrs out of 24. Toh aiseme agar aap samne walo ke liye unke chote chote bojh halke kar deta ho toh Isse badi khushi nahi hoti."

Tarika and Purvi still sat in confusion. " Are tum hi socho , Aaj raat ko bohot late ho gya hai aur ghar pohochte hi khana banane se ya order krne se shuruvat hai , toh aiseme kisiko agar microwave me khane ki plate dikh jaye toh how happy he would be. Do din se bedsheet dry clean ke liye daalni thi lekin waqt nahi milra , par agar koi sham me thak ke seedha bed pe gir jaye or use ekdum saaf bedsheet ki feeling aye toh kitna achcha ehsaas hoga.

Kal raat bohot thak gaya tha , alarm lagane wala tha par bhul gaya lekin fir bhi aapko koi bina bhule utha de ! Goliyaa khatam ho gyi thi aaj waqt nahi mila. ek din goli na khau toh kuch nahi hota...aur agar me..."

Shreya was continuing her narrating when suddenly she heard ,

" Shreya bas kar ekto pehlese hi mera koi bf nahi hai. Upar se itte meethe kisse sunane lagi toh kasam se kaan me chitiyaan lag jana hai mere !" Purvi said.

All three of them laughed at that.

( Present )

Shreya was bought back to the present by her phone ringing. It was Radhabai. And it was same love and affection that Shreya showed for Daya.

Radhabai was just checking if Shreya had woken up in time to do her chores and of course to wake up Daya.

Shreya didn't was to disturb Amairaah. She was sleeping peacefully. So she went out to talk.

Shreya was busy in her talks when a sudden, known, familiar aura washed her. She knew this feeling. She had felt it many times before. Turning her to left and right to find the source , suddenly her cheeks were cherry red.

Her man was walking towards her. Dressed in a simple light blue jeans and a black formal shirt and sport shoes. He was walking towards their room with his trolley-suitcase making most the gilrs stop dead in their tracks.

Daya was looking handsome from the depths of his eyes to the gentleness in his voice. He was a gentleman in his own senses. Holding the door for any lady , saying sorry , saying thank you and all the things that would make any girl fall for him within a second.

Shreya saw a girl looking directly at him. Was it okay to be jealous ? Or should she just act normal. Jealous..normal...Jealous normal...jealous...normal...- Her mind was wandering to and fro between these two when suddenly she got from her place and went near Daya. Daya smiled at her and when he expected that they would walk together, Jealousy took over Shreya.

With one hand Shreya just held Daya's and Daya smiled. Now the statement was made. This man was taken. And now they could happily walk forward. After covering some distance ,Shreya had still not left Daya's hand. Smiling from the cornor of the mouth Daya said, " Ahem..!". And suddenly Shreya realised that what she had done. Shreya was so embarrassed at her deeds that she was tomato red in front of Daya.

Daya said with a gentle voice , " Shreya, woh ladki kafi piche chali gyi hai ! I guess you can leave me now !"

Shreya was still confused and pondering over what she done. She quite didn't understand what Daya was talking about.

" Kya chod du Daya ?" Shreya asked.

Daya smiled at her and raised his hand that was held by Shreya's. Shreya now understood what exactly Daya meant.

" Oops ! Sorry Daya !" Shreya said immidiately retreating her hand back.

Daya laughed at her act. " Are we jealous ?" Daya asked in his gentle voice.

Shreya looked down and nodded her head in no. She was so embarrassed. Daya smiled at this behavior. With his thumb and index finger he tilted Shreya's head upwards. Shreya's cheeks were still cherry red and she was trying to avoid eye contact. " Shreya ??" Daya asked keeping his voice as gentle as as possible. " It's okay !" Daya said. But Shreya was onto her own. She literally started blabbering.

" Daya..I'm sorry. Mujhe pata nahi kya ho gya. I just couldn't resist. Me pehle aisa krne nahi wali thi par woh ladki. I don't know what happened..."

Shreya was blabbering so continuously as she didn't even realised that said It was okay.

" Shreya ...maine Kya kaha ?" Daya said as he stopped her in between. " Aapne toh its okay kaha lekin..." As Shreya was talking she stopped suddenly. " Aapne its okay kaha ?" Shreya smiled at that. She didn't have to give anymore explanation.

" Woh mujhe laga ki aapko ?" Shreya blushed not even able to complete her sentence.

Daya looked on both sides. The corridor was empty at this early hour of morning. Without missing a chance he went near her face and whispered in Shreya's ear.

" You just clamied what's yours ! You should never be sorry for that !"

That deep eyes , The gentle tone suddenly changing to a husky ones , his cologne and his personality from where the masculanity dripped from every part was enough to make Shreya drool.

Realizing that this is a public Daya quickly retorted back and made Shreya free from his space.

Shreya cleared her throat and said scratching her forehead , " Shyd Amu ki akh khul gyi hongi hume jana chahiye !" Daya noddded from where he was standing. As they were moving towards Amairaah's room Daya very gently laid a hand on her shoulder and pulled her a litlle closer. Shreya was shocked by this action.

" Just laying a claim on what's mine !" Daya said looking forwards. Shreya smiled as they continue to walk.

( In the room )

Amairaah had called the nurse as soon as Shreya had left for talking to someone on the phone. Actually Shreya thought that Amairaah was asleep but she wasn't.

With the help of the sister Amairaah had managed to get up to a point where so could sit with some support from the raised backrest of the bed.

Amairaah knew her family had worried a lot these past 2 weeks for her. Worried for days and night. She just wanted to do something that would make them genuinely smile. And that she could sit properly now would actually make them happy. So here she was waiting for them or rather waiting for the smile.

They were here. Amairaah could hear their laugh. The sound of content it was.

" Tum bhi Shreya kuch bhi karti rehti ho !" Daya said as he opened the door. And as soon as he entered he saw Amairaah sitting on the bed smiling at them.

A smile automatically crept on their face.

" Oye hoye mere gabru jawan ! " Daya said as he made his towards Amairaah.

" Totally impressed by you !" He said as he hugged Amairaah. The hug was light. Amairaah could sense that.

Daya hugged her very lightly because he just wanted to be careful with her.

Let the hug be light but Amairaah was so happy to be back with them that it could be sensed from her peaceful breathing.

Daya left her embrace and then sat down on the couch. " Breakfast kiya tum dono ne ?" He asked.

Both of them dipped their head. " As expected !" He said as he dialled the intercom.

The breakfast arrived few minutes later. Shreya opened Amairaah's breakfast that was wrapped in a silver foil. She then placed a small table on her bed so that she could eat.

Amairaah looked at the breakfast and in a very low voice said " Yuck !" Yes that's how the hospital meals are...Right ? No color, no taste and no beautiful aroma. She missed Radhabai now more than ever.

Daya was busy reading some magzines on the couch. Amairaah saw from the corner of the eye that he was not paying attention. So she slightly pushed the plate away. Shreya pushed it back again. Amairaah pushed it back .

" Amairaah , behave like an adult aur breakfast karo thikse !" Daya said without looking towards the two sisters and pinching the bridge of the nose.

Amairaah became aware after hearing this. She smiled at that and started eating the horrible breakfast _._

It had been a long time since she had heard the scolding of Daya. Although she never liked it she had missed it like crazy.

They both ate their breakfast in silence .

After few moments of chitchat Daya's cell phone rang. He picked it up in the second ring and said , " Hello...yes...Thank you...!" Amairaah was confused at the conversation.

" My cab's there ! Mujhe nikalna hoga !" Daya said.

Amairaah's smiling face turned into a sad one. Daya went near her and sat on the stool.

" Cmon Amu ! Dont be sad now. Mujhe jana hoga !" Daya said keeping a hand on her head

Amairaah understood that he was now needed in Mumbai.

Amairaah smiled slyly and nodded.

" Tum apna dhyaan rakhna aur apni behen ki sunna ! Aur bilkul badmashi nahi !" Daya said to her as he got up.

" Do you seriously think me iss halat me badmaahi kar paungi !" Amairaah asked to Daya.

Daya turned back towards her and said , " Nautanki kahiki ! Mujhe tumpe pura vishwas hai. Jaise hi chance mile tum badmashi karne se baaj nahi aogi !"

All three of them laughed at that.

Finally Daya took everybody's leave.

Shreya went with Daya to drop him to his cab.

They reached the parking and soon Daya saw a car waiting for him. He waved at the driver and within no time the driver was in front of Daya.

" Daya aap khana time pe khana , Goliyaan thikse lena. Aur jyada exertion mat karna ! And please don't get shot by a bullet or any thing else. Agar aapko time nahi hai toh mujhe bata dena me Radha kaki ko bolke aapke liye khana bhijwa dungi."

Daya smiled at the concern that Shreya showed.

" Jee madam !" Daya replied very innocently just as a student replies his teacher.

" Daya me majak nahi karri !" Shreya said getting irritated

" Aree toh me kaha majak karra !" Daya said kepping his suitcase.

" Aap ko toh aisa lagta hai ki sirf aaphi dusro ka khayal rakh sakte hai ! Hum toh bas aisehi hai !" Shreya said sadly.

Daya smiled at Shreya's childish behavior.

" Shreya !" Daya said to Shreya to gain some of her attention.

" Aajtak meri choti se choti chizo ka khayal jaise tumne rakha hai na...waisa kisine nahi rakha ! Believe me You are the best thing that has happened to me !" Shreya smiled on hearing these words.

" Achcha pohochne ke baad call karna !" Shreya said to Daya as he sat inside the car.

Daya nodded and bid Audio to Shreya. It was time for him to leave. The car engine started with a pur and now finally the two sisters were alone.

Shreya returned back to the room. She looked up at the sky on the way in between. She thanked god for introducing her to Daya.

She hurriedly went towards Amairaah's room. She didn't want to leave her sister alone for too much time no matter what.

As she entered she saw Amairaah trying to stretch herself in an attempt to get her hand to the magazines lying on the table.

" **Amairaah** !" Shreya shouted.

Amairaah was stubbed in her senses.

" Kya kar rahi hai ! Tere stitches nikal jayenge. Itna kyu khudko stretch kar rahi hai ! Pagal hai kya ? Itti choti baat bhi batani pdegi kya tumko ab ! Daya thik hi kehte hai ! Thodasa hum.palte nahi ki tera kuch ajab gajab shuru hojata hai !"

Amairaah was shocked to see such an outburst of Shreya ! But she kept quite.

Amairaah now had nothing to do. So she asked Shreya for help to lie down so that she could sleep peacefully.

( Night )

The whole day had passed uneventfully. Just the rounds of doctors , the distasteful meals and the incoming sisters. Nothing more happened. Daya had called at about 10 am in the morning that he had reached safely in Mumbai.

The dinner came and Amairaah ate it without making a fuss. She just didn't want Shreya to get angry on her. Amairaah guessed that she was sad because of Daya leaving but little did she knew that Shreya's tension was growing by the moment as the court date was coming closer.

After the dinner and all the medications it was time for Amairaah to sleep again . Four or fifth time of the day she would be sleeping. She was not sure that would sleep actually pay her a visit. But she didn't make a fuss about it either.

( Midnight )

It was 12 am. Midnight had finally came and Amairaah and Shreya were in deep sleep. Amairaah had woken up for about 6 times during the past 1 hour. Not for long enough though, but they were enough to break her sleep into unrefreshing chunks. But it was bound to happen. She had been sleeping almost whole day.

The weather outside was rather cold at night. Completely opposite to what it was during the day. And inside the room owing to the air conditioner a perfect temperature was maintained.

But inspite of all this Amairaah's skin was boiling. Fine droplets of sweat were seen forming on her forehead.

And within no minutes time she opened her eyes with a thud. Though she was properly resting on a bed in comfortable position , the moment her eyes opened she felt like she fell on a completely hard surface. Her head fell heavy and her breathing was erratic.

She tried to look at the monitors besides her. They were showing normal numbers. Nothing was disturbed.

Just her breathing was erratic. She knew what to do about it. ' Breathe in ...Breathe out...' She continued this process for about 5 minutes when finally she felt that she was getting enough oxygen

Amairaah turned her ways sideways to search for Shreya's cellphone. Shreya had kept it on the rack as always. Amairaah had a good look at Shreya before she got her hands on the mobile. Shreya was fast asleep.

Amairaah stretched a bit and got the phone. She opened the screen and started texting .

" Awake ?? Wanna talk to you ?" She typed and waited patiently for the reply.

Amairaah was waiting and waiting but there was no reply for 10 minutes. So she had given up hope. She tried to arrange her blankets in the pitch black room.

Amairaah was about to keep the cellphone when suddenly it flashed some light. Finally she had got an reply.

" Haa bolo Shreya ?? Sab thik toh hai ?"

Amairaah smiled and typed , " Shreya nahi Amairaah ! Shreya is fast asleep !"

And within no time of sending that msg The fone flashed due to the call from Daya. Amairaah cut the fone and typed again , " Are call mat karo ! Awaj ki wajahse Shreya di uth jaygi !" and hit the sent button. And seconds later she got a reply , " Are tumhari behen ki kumbhakarn ki nind hai . Nahi khulegi meri garuntee. 5 min ruko me call karta hu !"

Amairaah almost laughed at that moment and patiently waited for the call.

After exactly 5 minutes she got call.

" Bolo Amairaah ? Sab thik hai ? Itni raat ko mujhse kya baat krni thi ?" Daya asked.

Amairaah was silent for a moment. Had she done the right thing ? Was calling Daya okay ? " Amairaah are you there ?" came a voice from the phone.

" Haa..me bas woh...I mean..!" Amairaah was at the loss of word.

Same old same old problem ! Daya thought. Not being able to phrase your problems. He exactly knew what to do now !

" Achcha ye batao ki abtak soyi kaise nahi tum ?" Daya asked.

Amairaah liked that . She liked that because Daya had completely changed the topic. She felt good.

" Woh me soyi thi ! Bas akh khul gyi !" Amairaah replied.

" Akh kaise khul jati hai Amairaah ! Your body is in desperate need of sleep now." Daya said with slight scoldings.

" Woh mujhe..maine matlab...samajha nahi ara tha kya karu ! Matlab darr lag gya tha dekh ke !" Amairaah said in broken sentences.

" Kya dekh ke darr lagra Amairaah ?" Daya asked. He was not scared or paranoid this time. It was because though Amairaah was scared her voice was perfectly normal. Means there was actually no kind of emergency. He just wanted to know what was Amairaah scared of at this hour of night.

" Woh sapne me woh logone jo kiya tha. Unhone mujhe ek CD me dikhaya tha. Woh dekh ke darr laga !" Amairaah said with a low voice.

" You had nightmare again Amairaah ?" Daya asked very lovingly.

Amairaah didn't utter a word. But only a small weep was heard on the other side of the phone.

( Daya's terrace )

Daya heard a very low sob from the other side. But instead of being worried he smiled at himself.

" So what did you do ?" Daya asked very formally. Amairaah was at first surprised by that. But he knew that Daya wouldn't do anything without a reason

There was another moment of silence. Daya could only hear Amairaah's breathing. It was not erratic , not too slow and not too fast ! It was just as what he had taught her - Inhale and exhale ! So Daya settled in peace once more.

" Amairaah ! I asked what did you do this time !" Daya asked again.

" Kuch nahi kiya maine. Kuch nahi. I just inhaled and exhaled and I let that wave pass away !" Daya was more than happy to listen to this.

" Are you fine now ?" Days askes again.

Amairaah's voice was now better. " Yeah ! I am very fine you don't have to worry about that . I just wanted to tell you that It just took a lot to get myself out of that !"

Daya was so happy on hearing this. He said to Amairaah , " I think people don't know how much strength it takes to pull your own self out of a mentally dark space. So if you have done that today or any other day, I am so so proud of you !"

" I owe you a lot ! You know that right ??" Came a voice from the other side. Daya smiled at that.

" Really, Do I ??" Daya asked with content.

Amairaah said yes. " And if I really do ! Can you do one thing for me !" Daya asked. " "Yes of course " Amairaah said.

" You both just come back back in one piece !" Daya said laughing. And after a bit of leg pulling they both kept the phone.

But instead of keeping it he just opened the text window and started typing !

( Hospital room )

Amairaah was about to keep the phone when suddenly it flashed again. It was a text from Daya. It read

' Everything heals. Your body heals. Your heart heals. Your mind heals. Wounds heal . Your soul repairs itself. Your happiness is always going to comeback. The bad times won't. '

Amairaah smiled at the sweet gesture and replied , ' It just healed !' .

She just deleted the conversation that she had with Daya. She didn't want Shreya to hover over her in the morning

Even if was quite dark , Amairaah stretched again and took the diary and pen in her hands. In the light of the small fone and with her bruised hands. She started writing something.

Images started to pass through her mind. Images of all the man that had abducted her now and 4 years back. But what she exactly wrote about these guys. Here it is -

" **Today , I have decided to forgive you . Not because you apologized or you acknowledged the pain that you have caused me. But because my soul deserves peace !"**

Writing this Amairaah closed the book. Turned off the mobile and closed her eyes. And within no time she was asleep peacefully !

Peace ! This should the only goal that every body should aim for , Right ??. You have to be in harmony with yourself to be in good harmony with outside world. If you have the ability to be at peace , be in peace with yourself first and If you have the ability to love , be in love with yourself first !


	31. Chapter 30

Sakshi : Yes sakshi you are right ! Fall in love with people not because of the big things they did for you. Fall in love because of the small things that they never knew they did !

Aditi : Thank you aditi ! As always.

Riya : Thanks riya

Guest ( 21 june ) : Lijiye ji aapke liye khas surprise !

Guest : Thank you so much !

Guest : Thank you for your support !

Sansanu : Just one line ! " I owe you a lot !"

Sunhat : Thank you Sunhat for your praise. Hope you like this chapter more than the previous one. Hope its better again !

Nidhu : Thank you Nidhu ! Yes I will try to continue writing as much as possible.

Laksara : Laksara ji ! Kaha chali gyi thi aap. Kitna miss kiya aapko pata hai ! Aap aise hi choti choti seekh lete rahe and hope it makes your life a little better than yesterday !

Chapter 30 :

 **' Time flies. Time waits for no man. Time heals all wounds. All of us need more time. Time to stand up.Time to grow up. Time to let go. Time !'**

Amairaah wrote in a shabby handwriting in her diary. A couple of days had passed since Daya left them. A couple of days passed means a couple of days left for the verdict.

The day daya had left, their room was gauraded by a constable. It was protection offered by the court. There was actually nothing to be scared of now. The case was completely on their side. Everyone knew that. The culprits were caught the same day.

The anti-terrorists bereau had interrogated ACP sir about the no known where abouts of the case to the main authority in this area. But ACP Pradyuman had handled them. He never revealed about the meeting that he had with the ATS chief. Who knows what price he had to pay or what negotiation he made. But the situation from that side was silent.

The main culprit was not being transferred from Pune jail due to safety reasons. There was actually no point of moving him just for case. It was too much of risking.

Even though the case was on their side now , Amairaah felt restless. Nothing could go wrong now but Amairaah wouldn't be at peace untill and unless they both return to Mumbai safely. Moreover Shreya was tensed and what topped was she was worst at hiding it. Spilled water from the glass , constantly zoning to god knows where , lost apetite and some little fights with the hospital staff. These were regular things now.

Such attitude made matters worse for Amairaah.

It had been almost 3-4 days that Amairaah had talked to Daya. He would help her calm down. But he was busy in some case again. Amairaah just didn't want to disturb him. But she could ...Cause it was not for her. It was for Shreya ! But still Amairaah chose to remain silent. She couldn't bother Daya for the small things.

Amairaah was herself worried for the day. No she was not scared about the goons , no she was scared about her security. Her concern was totally different. The point was Amairaah didn't know how Shreya would react when the chapter opens up again. Shreya was quite distant to the things that had happen 4 years ago. And in those 4 years Shreya had kept herself distant. No , Shreya had tried to invade the space but Amairaah had never let Shreya in. She didn't want Shreya to hear about that night. She knew Shreya would be filled with immense guilt. Although Shreya had read the file n number of times but she always wanted it to hear from her voice.

But to Amairaah those memories were so painful. Deep and horrible. She had literally kept them as a book kept on shelf to gather the dust. No body was allowed to touch it. Not also Shreya. Just her. These memories were tailormade for her only - that was just her thinking. Anyways but even after 4 years Amairaah didn't want to talk about that. She had come a far way now. Thanks to Daya ! But there were still somethings that anybody dare touch.

Amairaah was deep in thinking when suddenly there was knock on door.

" Good morning everybody !" The doctor said. She was sure a very cheerful lady. Always properly dressed no matter when her shift was at night or in the day.

" How is everything going ?" She asked again.

Amairaah straightened her posture a slight to talk with her.

" Fine . Everything's fine !" Amairaah replied.

The doctor smiled and started her regular check.

She was still continuing her exam when Amairaah asked again , " Doctor , I was just wondering when will I be discharged ?" It was quite a straight forward question. The doctor smiled from the corner of the eyes. She was done with exams and was signing something.

" What do you do Amairaah ?" She asked very politely !

" A medical intern !" Amairaah said proudly.

" Well that makes my job so easy !" The doctor said.

Shreya was curiously listening to their conversation.

The doctor came and sat on the small stool.

" There are days , When your body needs to heal physically as well as mentally. The physical part we will manage you don't worry a bit about that. But the mental part that's something you need to work on your own !"

Amairaah was now really confused. What mental part was she talking about. Boy ! She seriously hadn't seen how she was 4 years ago. She had actually worked a lot on her. And still this doctor was saying that she needs to work on her mental status.

" My mind is quite , healthy and happy doctor ! You don't need to worry about that !" Amairaah replied with a bit cockiness.

" Amu ! " Shreya shouted a little bit. Here it comes - Amairaah thought. Anger and Shreya go hand in hand now a days. She is the one who need mental peace not me - Amairaah's mind screamed. Why she didn't know but somewhere from inside her arrogance was coming out. She was trying hard to controll it but she couldn't.

" Amu tu kyu nahi sudharti. Kitni baar bola hai itni badtameezi se baat nahi krte kisise ! " Shreya said again. Her look was distressing. Like she was tired to do anything now.

The doctor raised a hand at her. " Its okay Shreya ! Dinbhar iss bed pe pade rehne ke baad sometimes you just can't help it ! I guess Amairaah knows this already , she being in the same field !" The doctor said looking at Amairaah and suddenly making her aware of of what she was and how should she behave socially. Amairaah dipped her head in silence.

" Mental health doesn't always mean the psychological one or the psychiatric one. Sometimes it just means that did uou sleep well today ? Have you given yourself some rest ? Did you allow you mind to relax for sometime ?... Just work on these stuff and no sooner you will be out. Coz believe you you need rest now , more than ever !" The doctor said getting up from the stool.

" Mam !" Amairaah said it real polite this time. " I am taking enough rest physically and mentally !" She continued.

The doctor came back. She put he hands in the pockets and said , " You are already prescribed with antacids. May I ask you pichle do raat se tumne thanda doodh kyu mangaya tha sister ke hath se ?" Amairaah became aware. God even the doctors had started to play CID CID.

The question was followed by complete silence.

Shreya was confused on hearing this. She thought that due to all the allopathic medicines she was on, Amairaah had ordered cold milk to take with them.

" Me batau ?" the doctor asked again.

" Because you have not been sleeping properly. Causing an increase in the acidity ! Right ?"

Amairaah knew she was right but she didn't want to let her gaurds down. " Doctor woh dopahar me nind hoti hai toh raat me kam ati hai ! Bas that's the reason !"

" The nurse sees you awake all the time when she visits you. And moreover I see you awake at night when I just take a walk on these corridors ! So lets not get there."

The doctor said maintaining her calm and composure all throughtout.

" Medicines will heal you , But you need to take a note that when you take medicines you need to recover twice. Ones from the disease and ones from the medicines ! " The doctor said finally taking a leave.

As soon as the doctor left Amairaah knew the sky was going to burst open. Shreya would be mad as hell.

Shreya's frustation increased by the minute. Amairaah just thought that her sister was going to explode now. Instead Shreya took a deep breathe and went out of the room banging the door. This was totally unexpected from her but she did it.

Shreya went out and calmly sat on a chair in balcony. It was their room's private one. Over the days it had became Shreya's favourite spot to sit. It was not decorated one and neither it was that one of a kind where one would look forwards to sit. But it somehow comforted her. It was a concrete , sqauare ledge with with old rusty railing. Their room was on the tenth floor . On the balcony she could enjoy the cool breeze , be sunkissed and even sit in the misty mornings during rain. The whole city laid below hustling and honking. But 10 floors above she was far enough removed from it and had became a passive observer rather than being trapped in its strife !

Shreya breathed in and breathed out releasing all the stresses that had gathered in. Somehow her mind was still wandering on what the doctor had said about mental peace. Although the doctor was talking to Amairaah she felt as though the words were being directly thrown at her.

Shreya kept thinking about her behavior from the day Daya had gone. Of course she was missing Daya but thay was not the reason behind her behavior. The only thing that she was pondering over was that her one of the main supporter was gone now. She felt like she had became handicapped without him.

Was this good ? or Was this actually right ? Shreya thought. And in minutes the answer came as no.

Of course she was paranoid , scared and stressed but this was not the kind of atmosphere to kept now.

She should have composed herself and kept the atmosphere healthy.

And moreover she couldn't depend on Daya on smallest things. He wouldn't be there everytime. She let that sunk in with a deep lesson.

Even though they were in love , even though they stood for each other in hardest time and even though they got each other's back through hell but owing to there jobs they couldn't be everywhere.

Now Shreya relalised the pain that her father felt everytime ge left them for a job.

( Flashback )

' Kit...kit...kit...kit ' The sound came as Shreya types something on.laptoo very aggressively. This sound was then followed by rumbling of papers. The next sound was that of the laptop screen being shut very angrily.

Daya was looking at this behavior from a distance. He was smiling from the corner of the eyes. He just found it funny when Shreya was angry or frustated. Because she acted funny . Making unnecessary noise , banging small things , and the list goes on.

" Daya don't laugh yaar !" Shreya said out of frustation. Daya burst out in laughter on hearing that.

Shreya looked angrily at Daya.

They both were sitting in the backseat on Daya's car. They had gone to drink some coffee. But here they were sitting in the back seat of the car.

" Ekto coffee pilane laye the . Coffee toh pi nahi rahe ! Bas ye kaam hi karri hu me cafe ke samne baith ke aur chid chid ho rahi hai ! Kaise boyfriend ho aap ! You should make me feel good and instead you are laughing at me !" Shreya said out of frustation.

Daya stopped his laugh and turned towards Shreya ! He very gently look laptop from her lap and kept it besides her. He then took all the papers and kept them properly in a file and put that file in the front seat !

Suddenly he pulled Shreya towards him and embraced her in a side hug.

" I dont like the misconception that coffee se dimag shant hota hai ! Caffeine relaxes you ! Infact the I think its the total opposite. Coffee pina hai toh shanti se ekdum relaxed mind se piyo yaar ! Tension me coffee pine ka kya matlab ! Ye jawab tha apke ye sawal ka ki hum andar coffee pine kyu nahi jaa rahe ! "

Shreya just breathed deeply in the most comforting embrace she had ever found. For a moment she forgot all the stresses.

After about five minutes of lying in the embrace suddenly she became aware of the reality. " Par Daya woh ACP sir ne jo report ke liye date...woh...!" Shreya said as Daya kept his finger on her lips.

" Sshhh ! shant raho and close your eyes !" He said. But Shreya was reluctant to do so !"

Daya tightened his hold on Shreya and put one of his earplugs in her ear. There was soulful music playing which actually soothed Shreya. Her breathes deepened and she was completely relaxed.

After sometime Daya saw Shreya leaning on him with closed eyes.

" Relaxed ??" Daya asked in a low Voice. . His intention was that Shreya should not open her eyes now.

Shreya didn't say anything and nodded positively.

Suddenly Shreya felt Daya's breathe very near to him. And it was not innocent like a tease but was rather a fiery ,passionate and demanding one.

Daya's lips brushed Shreya's ! Shreya was shocked at this sudden happenings and she tried to pull away but was kept stable by Daya's strong arms and within no time she found herself engrossed in the same. Shreya had lost herself very quickly in the minty moment and she could not think straight !

Daya clasped his both hands on either side of Shreya's face and whispered Shreya prolonging each letter as if to savour them.

Shreya's heart fluttered. Never before she had felt someone speaking her name like that. She was in a different loop for sure.

After some time of devouring the kiss broke and both of them straightened themselves.

" It was totally unexpected !" Shreya said as she straighened her hair.

" Just a precap that I am a good boyfriend. " Daya said smiling.

" Waise bhi music makes me do good things ! Crazy but good ! " Daya said straightening himself.

He opened the door and said , " Toh finally sham ki raat ho chuki hai coffee pine chale ??" He asked.

Shreya nodded her head as she got down from the vehicle.

( Present )

It was the same music track playing in her earplugs . Although she missed her man but a great realization had hit her. A realization to be independent no matter what. Yes their jobs were difficult but together everything seemed possible.

After a few more songs and calming herself , Shreya went inside the room She saw Amairaah sleeping peacefully. She caressed her sister. Instead of becoming her support she was becoming her weakness. And she needed to mend that and she would. Shreya promised herself.

( Bereau )

" Sir ye kuch khas jam nahi raha ! Agar mihir ko uski property , daulat se matlab hi nahi tha toh woh uski biwi ka khoon kyu krega ! Aur kisi badle ka toh sawal hi nahi uthata ! Jab kabhi kuch hua hi nahi toh kaisa badla !" Purvi said.

The whole CID team was around to discuss the ongoing case. Some dead bodies , some usual suspects , some direct questions , some indirect doubts and a lot of clues. The life had began again.

The day Daya had landed in Mumbai he started his job without even resting for a bit.

Maybe this was the reason that such jobs deserved more respect.

Daya was going over and over again some files. Finding the missing link. The case was a regular case but something was missing and Daya was determined to find it out.

He turned backwards towards the window which was located behind his table. He pushed the curtains sideways to look at the city lights. The city looked a mosaic pattern of balck and golden colors.

He returned back to his table to finish his job. Abhijeet had advised him to leave but he was so stubborn to find something today itself. So without even a second thought he opened the next file.

Daya was tired. And this level of tired was literally comparable to insanity. It was like that would love to temporarily dislocate his mind to an another world.

And moreover he was missing Shreya ! Her images were constantly coming to his mind .

After 5 minutes Daya gave up and picked his fone to dial Shreya ! But before it could ring he kept it back again !

' Abhi agar iss samay Shreya ko fone karunga toh meri chinta karne lagegi ki abtak bereau me kya kar rahe ho ! Waise bhi usko waha ki chinta hogi ! Yahase tension aur nahi badhata ' With this thought the kept the fone back into the place and continued his file work.

( Hospital - Ahemdabaad )

Amairaah was still sleeping after the doctor's round in the mid- noon. It had started to get dark. Shreya was sitting on the couch doing something on her laptop.

Suddenly with one hand she massaged the nape of her neck.

God she missed Mumbai , her home , her collegues and of course Daya !

She picked up her fone for a call and after dialing kept it back again.

' Kya Daya ko bhi fone karu bas iske liye ki aapko miss kar rahi hu ! Bohot busy honge kaam me ! Uparse aajkal akele rehte hai toh apna dhyaan bhi nahi rakhte ! Aur upar abhi fone kiya toh unko lagenga ki yaha kuch serious hai ! Koi nahi baad me baat kar lungi !' With this thought she kept the phone back.

And this was the kind of love that everybody should desire. If they saw each others heart they also played attention to what angered them. If they knew each other's mind they also listened to the words that lingered in silence and if they knew each other's soul , they would surely catch a glimpse of each other's eyes when they would smile.

( Bereau )

Everyone had left except Daya and ACP sir. The Senior most person was in his cabin and Daya as we all know was still working on his files.

The pen in Daya hands was moving within his fingers aimlessly when suddenly on hearing a certain voice the movement stopped.

" Daya cabin me aao kuch baat karni hai !" ACP sir said from the door of his cabin itself.

" Yes sir !" Daya said as he closed his files and left his table.

As Daya entered the cabin he saw that his boss was working on laptop.

" Baitho Daya !" ACP sir said and switched off his laptop.

" Ji sir !" Daya said rather asked.

Daya knew from his senior's face that something serious was in his mind. To lower his anxiety he took a glass of water that was kept on the table. He started drinking when out of sudden the strangest question popped up.

" Haa toh Daya ...me soch raha tha ki tumne aur Shreya ne shadi ke barime kuch socha hai ?

Daya coughed out the water that he had just drank.

Where did this thought came to his mind and that too in this situation.

" Sir abhi kaise soch sakte hai in sab chizo ke barime ?" Daya said very seriously.

" Abhi matlab ? abhi kya problem hai !" ACP sir asked.

" Sir abhi woh case upar se Amairaah mumbai ane ke baad bhi uski recovery would take a long time . Aise me hum dono aise kaise soch sakte hai ?" Daya asked.

" Tum Amairaah ki chinta mat karo. I mean I know that in the past one year you have grown to consider her as your little sister and all. But I guess it's time to think about yourself too ! Aur rahi baat Amairaah ki toh waise bhi me soch hi raha hoon ki Mumbai ane ke baad kuch din Amairaah ko apne sath rakhu ! " ACP sir said clearing every doubt.

" Sir par Abhijeet !" Daya said again.

" Usse bhi baat ho gyi hai ! He is more than happy if you say yes !" ACP sir said smiling.

" Sir par Amairaah kya sochegi ? Uski aisi halat me hum Shadi ka soch rahe hai !" Daya said again.

" Thik hai usse bhi baat kar lunga mai ! " ACP sir said.

" Tumhe bas haa bolke Shreya se baat krni hai. Waise mere pehchan ke hai ek. Iss mahine ki ending ki date free hai court marriage ke liye !" ACP sir said.

This was the second shock to Daya. These guys had the whole thing planned out.

" Bas Shreya se baat krne ki jimmedari tumhari !" ACP sir said at last.

" Usko waise ye mahine ke end ka andaja deke rakhna ! " He said again.

Daya was sitting in complete shock.

" Kafi der ho gyi hai ! Hum dono ko ab nikalna chahiye !" With this ACP sir got up and left.

And now a whole new chapter had opened in front of Daya. How could he talk to Shreya about this now.

The problem was not that he was not sure about shreya ! The problem was he was not sure about the timings !

Daya got up and left from the cabin. He was no mood to work now. Of all the things , the only thing that worried Daya was that how would he talk to Shreya.

Daya left the bereau immidiately after that. Constantly thinking barely keeping his eyes on the road.

He reached the parking and sat in his car. Taking a deep breathe , he started the engine.

A few hours ago he was extremely hungry. Pet me chuhe daud rahe the but now the hunger had completely vanished.

Although he just had his breakfast today but he was in no mood for dinner.

Making his way through the traffic of the city he finally reached his home.

Daya got down and took his pistol and tugged it in his pants on the back side. As he made way through the verandah he saw some parcel being placed there.

He picked it up and found that it was from his favourite restaurants. A bill was stapled to the brown covered parcel which showed a list of his favorite dishes that he hadn't eaten from a long time due to fitness issues.

He was keeping the parcel aside when he felt something being written on the back side of the bill.

" Hey mister , sometimes cheat day is allowed. I don't why I felt ki aaj aapko bohot bhook lagi hogi aur aajhi aap bohot thake hue honge toh bina khana khaye so jayenge ! So here it is ! Your favorite food.

Happy dinner !"

The note read. Their was no name written but only a small heart was made in the lower right corner , which was sufficient for daya.

He smiled internally . A voice inside him said , ' Tu iss ladki se shadi krne ke liye soch raha hai ? Pagal ladka ! Me hota toh kabka haa bolke shadi fix kr leta !'

And at that moment he made up his mind to say yes to ACP sir and have a conversation with Shreya ! Buybhe made sure that he would talk with her face to face on this topic.

( Hospital )

The room was in complete silence. Amairaah was having the distasteful meal without even complaining a bit.

Shreya's phone flashed with a picture of Daya. It was a video call of Daya.

Amaiaah smiled on seeing the screen. With so much excitement she picked up the phone.

" Hello !" She said very cheerfully with a smile on her face.

" Wow ! Someone is in a very good mood today ! " Came Daya's reply.

But suddenly Amairaah's eyes narrowed on what Daya was doing.

" Aapko sharam nahi ati kya ? Me itna beswad khana kha rahi hu ! Aur aap itna tasty dinner kha rahe hai mere samne !" Amairaah said out fo frustation.

" Tumhari behen ne bheja hai yaar ! And I must say , Its quite tasty !" Daya said with not a feeling of guilt on his face.

" How was your day ?" Daya asked.

" Daya sir , inko bolo na mujhe discharge de ! Please mujhe yaha nahi rehna !" Daya laughed at that. " Ab ye kahase agya !"

" Bas abhi nahi rehna Ahemdabad me .Bas mumbai ana hai aapke pass. Shreya di se bhi baat karo na..itteme gusse me re ...!" Amairaah was saying when she suddenly heard the door open.

It was Shreya and she suddenly became silent.

Shreya saw that the fone was in her hand and said , " Amairaah kitti baar kaha hai beta itna stretch nahi karte khudko ! Stitches nikal jayenge tumhare ! Aisi yaha rehne ka itna jaan pe aaraha hai tumhare aur complications mat badhao tum !"

Amairaah was sad on hearing this. She kept the fone on her bed on silently started eating her food.

" Shreya ??" Daya asked from phone.

" Are Daya aapka fone hai ? Kaise ho ?" Shreya asked.

" Sab thik hai wahape ?" Daya asked.

" Haa sab thik hai Daya ! "

Shreya took the phone outside and shut the room. Of course Daya wanted to know about what the doctors were saying and Shreya didn't want to have a discussion of this in front of Daya.

After having some talks about there where abouts , Shreya finally came inside.

" Amairaah lo , baat karo !"

But When she entered , she saw Amairaah curled up in a small ball and a sound of small weeping.

" Amairaah ??" Shreya asked out of worry.

" Kya hua Shreya ? Sab thik toh hai ?" Daya also asked out of worry.

" Daya woh Amairaah...ek min !" Shreya said as he moved forward to the beds and started to uncover Amairaah's face from her blanket.

" Kya hua ? Tu ro kyu rahi hai ?" Shreya asked very gently.

Even Daya became worried on seeing the situation.

" Mujhe nahi rehna na di yaha ! Mujhe nahi rehna ! Aap please kisise baat kijiye na ! Yaa Daya sir se boleyi fone krke doctor ko bole. Bas nahi rehna ! Aapka bhi mood thik nahi rehta yaha. Ghutan ho rahi hai iss room me !" Amairaah said as she burst into tears in front of her sister.

Daya laughed at that ! " Oye mere sher ! Itte chote baat ke liye koi rote nahi rehta ! Khabardar agar ek bhi aasu tapkaya toh ! " Daya said from the video call.

Shreya was holding her sister and giving her all the warmth she could.

" Aur nahi toh kya ? Ye koi chiz hai ! Aur tujh jaise strong ladki ne toh aisa bolna bhi nahi chahiye !" Shreya continued.

Amairaah's tears had stopped but her weeping was still going on.

Daya knew that it just not the fatigue of staying in one room. It was the tension of the case , the tenison of healing even after getting discharged. Now the things had started piling. The case , The city and then her academics. It was sure to come out any time now.

" Achcha chal , meri baat sun. Tu rona band kar. Jaise hi case khatam ho jata hai ! You will he on your way to mumbai ! I will make sure of that !" Daya said.

Amairaah's weeping stopped and she looked at the screen with a hope.

" Pakka promise ?" She asked again

" Ha baba pakka promise !" Daya assured her.

" Par abhi ke liye dawai leke so jao ! thik hai ?" Daya said.

Amairaah nodded .

After saying their final goodbyes , Shreya handed over some medicines to Amairaah and made her sleep. She was by her side holding her hand the whole time.

She got up only after making sure that her sister was completely asleep.

As soon as she sat on her couch ! Her fone vibrated.

" So gyi ?" A text msg read.

" Haa abhi soyi ! Just an unexpected outburst it was !" Shreya hit the sent button.

Daya replied immidiately , " Hmm.. Woh toh hona hi tha kabhi na kabhi ! Koi baat nahi chalo tum bhi sojao. I will also go to sleep ! Gn !"

Shreya replied back witha good night and sleep overpowered her within no time.

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.Guest lemon lover : Chotasa hi tha..par kaisa laga ?? I hope you read this chapter !


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